Will we ever be together?
by Erosdeath
Summary: There's only one knuckle-head ninja in all of Konoha who has the courage and strength to complete any task, but what about when it comes to true love? Will Hinata and Naruto fall happily in love from discussing their feelings or will they both falter and crush each other's hopes and dreams as they both unknowingly hold the others world in the palm of their hands?
1. Old Friends

**disclaimer:** **I don't own naruto or the naruto franchise, kishimoto does. I only own this fanfic.**

As you might notice Naruto comes off a bit strong when being kind, more than his usual self, but that's the way I like him. But everything else about him I try my best to keep normal so he doesn't seem too off character other than that, enjoy my horrible first try at writing my first fantic. Whether you liked the story or not a review would be nice, telling me where I did good and where I went wrong as it'll help in writing future chapters. Oh and please don't leave reviews just saying it's garbage that's not helpful at all.

 **Edit** : I've been told by a few readers who told me that, AHEM SPOILER! That my fight scene is ridiculous, and I bet there's plenty more of you out there who thought the same thing but decided not to tell me, but let me remind you that this is my first attempt at a fanfic and therefore as well as a fight scene. The scene itself is suppose to show Naruto having conflicted thoughts. I'll leave it at that since I don't want to spoil too much. If you still don't like it just skip the scene and continue. I assure you that this story is decent.

"Talking"

 _"Thoughts"_

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Old friends**

* * *

The sky was dark and covered in grey clouds as the rain poured down on Konoha. She thought back to the day she protected him and confessed her love while battling Pain. Remembering the look on his face as she stood in front of the blonde determined to protect him, knowing full well the extent of Pain's power. And the terrified expression he gave as Pain struck her with the rod, followed by him losing control and going into Kurama link. It's been almost three years since then, and one year since the war.

 _"Did he really care for me that much? Or was he just mad that a friend of his had fallen?"_ She was lost in thought when someone walked in.

"Hinata what are you doing in here?" Naruto asked as Hinata jumped in surprise. Her face was blushing and she was trying to hide it.

"N-Nothing really Naruto-kun." Hinata stared at the floor embarrassed, she hated it when Naruto scares her like that.

"Good, then come on out here." Naruto grabbed Hinata's hand and dragged her out of the room. Hinata could only stare back at the window sill while Naruto dragged her away.

Naruto brought her over to a couch and they plopped down on it. "W-What are we doing N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata's face scrunched up.

"We are going to watch some shows." Naruto grinned. "Or some movies, your choice Hinata."

"Movies w-will do Naruto-kun." Hinata almost whispered.

"What was that? I couldn't hear you, speak louder." Naruto said, putting a hand to his ear for emphasis.

"I said movies will do Naruto-kun." slightly blushing as she looked at the blonde who was grinning still.

"See that wasn't so hard now was it?" He got up to start a movie.

Hinata looked around and remembered when Naruto's place was covered in ramen cups, with dirty and clean clothes everywhere. Now it looked decent, there were still little messes here and there but overall it looked fairly clean. Though in all honesty it was her who made him clean the place up since she hung out at his place often and didn't like being surrounded by filth. Naruto didn't seem to mind it though. He always cleaned his place whenever it started to get too messy. She guessed it was a habit he picked up from her.

She felt warm hands on her shoulders and then was covered in a big blanket. "Here, this should keep you warm." Naruto smiled at her.

"N-N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata's face turned cherry red.

"You looked cold so I got you a blanket Hinata."

She didn't even notice she was shivering, "Thank you Naruto-kun" as she moved around in the blanket, smiling from the warmth and coziness.

Naruto hopped over the couch onto the seat next to Hinata, who was enjoying the blanket a bit too much. "What about y-you? Aren't you c-cold?" Hinata looked at him.

"Nah I'm fine. I got the blanket for you anyway."

Hinata was lost in thought again as she looked at her best friend. She couldn't believe that Naruto and her became this close, the old her would've fainted just from him being near him.

 _"This is something I've always dreamed of, but never even thought once was possible."_ She thought.

She pulled the cover close to her face and inhaled the scent.

Oh how she loved it. It smelled like Naruto. He smelled like lemons, and she grew to love that smell.

Naruto couldn't help himself but look at Hinata. She was so beautiful with her lavender hair, and her skin, it looked so soft and beautiful that he wanted to touch it, to see if it was as soft as it looked, and her body was wonderful. She was perfect, almost like an angel.

As the movie went on Hinata started to fall asleep. Naruto felt something press down on his shoulder, he looked over to see Hinata fast asleep. She snuggled him and eventually managed to lay on his lap somehow. Naruto was baffled and overjoyed at the same time. He just sat there watching the beauty sleeping on his lap, and his chest fluttered.

After the movie ended he turned the TV off and looked at the angel one more time before gently lifting her up and carrying her to his room.

He covered her in his blanket and looked down at her, _"She must've had a long day."_

Just looking at her made his chest warm, but he couldn't figure out why. Without dwelling further on the thought, he went and slept on the couch.

* * *

The sun shone brightly in Hinata's face early in the morning, so she pulled the covers over her head in an attempt to rid herself of the sunlight, but to no avail. Her eyes were closed and she inhaled the lemon scented bed sheets and covers enjoying the aroma.

That's when she shot up and realized she was in Naruto's bed.

 _"Omg did I fall asleep on him? Did we sleep together? No Naruto wouldn't sleep with me, but how did I get here? And where's Naruto?"_ As if he read her thoughts Naruto appeared in the doorway.

"Well whadda ya know, sleeping Beauty is finally awake." Naruto snickered, causing Hinata to blush.

"Naruto-kun, how did I get in your bed?" Hinata asked with a confused face.

"Well you fell asleep during the movie and ended up sleeping on my lap. And after the movie ended I carried you to my bed and then went to sleep on the couch."

Her face became even more red, "I'm s-sorry I fell asleep o-on you like that." Hinata said, desperately trying to conceal her embarrassment.

But Naruto could see it, "Hey, it's okay. There's nothing to be embarrassed about, to be honest it was really cute to see you sleep on my lap and hug the blanket close to your face, ya know." He said with a huge smile on his face.

She turned so red that it almost looked like she was going to explode. Her head dropped in embarrassment "I-I'm sorry N-Naruto-kun, it's j-just..." and she trailed off.

 _"Did he really just call her sleeping Beauty, and say she looked cute while sleeping? Am I losing it, is this just a dream?"_

Hinata pinched herself to make sure, _"Nope this definitely real."_ After a long time of thinking she was snapped out of her thoughts when she smelled delicious food as her stomach growled.

Naruto walked in with a tray that had a plate of fresh pancakes covered in butter and syrup and crispy bacon, with a glass of orange juice and napkins. This was also something he picked up from Hinata. She was a great cook and overtime decided to teach Naruto how to make something other than ramen.

"Here you go Hinata. Thought you might be hungry when you woke up, so I made some breakfast."

She started to blush again "T-Thank you."

 _"This must be a dream, as much I love Naruto-kun there's no way he'd do something like this."_

She thought she would ask Naruto. "Naruto-kun did you really make this f-for me?" She looked at him with curiosity.

"Of course" he chuckled.

"Anything for you." A fox-like grin appeared over his face as he said that.

The old Hinata would have fainted right then and there, but she just smiled while blushing. She had a hard time controlling her excitement, she wanted to embrace him and give him a kiss on the cheek.

"Eat up Hinata, we've got a lot of work to do." Naruto stated as he looked at her still shocked face.

"Hai." Still in a daze Hinata slowly started to eat while Naruto left the room to go take a shower.

 _"This is actually happening! Naruto let me sleep in his room and made me breakfast in bed. I can't believe this, it's what I've always dreamed of."_

Naruto came back after he was done his shower with clean clothes on in his usual attire, which consisted of a thin bright orange jacket and black t-shirt underneath with just as bright cargo pants in the same colour. He peeked in the room to see if Hinata was done, " Hinata if you need a shower, you can go right ahead. And you can use one of my bathrobes. I put one of my clean ones in the bathroom already."

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata slowly turned her head towards him, surprised by what he just said her face was flushed.

"Yeah?" Naruto said with a confused look.

"N-N-Nothing." Hinata quickly turned away trying to hide her face and stifle her giggling, he looked so cute when he had that expression on his face.

"Well alright, I'm always here if you have any questions, ya know." He turned around to leave.

Hinata got up from the bed and went to the bathroom to take a shower. Afterwards she was enjoying herself because she smelled like lemons, and was inhaling the smell of his bathrobe while joyfully walking back to the bedroom.

She was going to change when she realized she didn't have a spare change, considering she didn't expect to spend the night at Naruto's.

"Um, I don't have any spare clothes." Hinata said as she sat on the bed thinking.

Naruto came around the corner and saw her in his robe and his jaw dropped in shock. She was wearing his orange robe with black outlining and he could clearly see her gorgeous hour-glass figure.

Hinata saw him and instantly turned red. "NARUTO! You should at least knock before entering! I may be covered but still, it's very rude." She threw a pillow at him.

Naruto quickly turned back around and scooted to the side out of view, "Haha... Sorry Hinata, I uh wasn't thinking." he said while rubbing the back of his neck. "Anyways you can use one of my shirts if you'd like." Naruto was blushing.

Hinata giggled, "It's okay, just don't let it happen again."

A few minutes later she walked out in a black t-shirt and her purple cargo pants. Naruto caught a wif of his shampoo and almost melted as she walked by.

Soon they were both out the door and off to the training grounds.

They often trained together whenever they could, when Neji had other business to take care of. And today they were able to, this time making it easier to get there early since Hinata slept at Naruto's.

Later in the day after hours of training, both participants were sweating and gasping for air. So they agreed to call it a day and cool off.

"You're getting better at this." Naruto complimented.

"Well I should be or it wouldn't be training now would it." Hinata said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"You've got a point there." Naruto laughed as he rubbed the side of his neck.

Naruto was looking up at the big tree they were under and watched the leaves rustle in the wind when Hinata interrupted his trance.

"So um... Naruto-kun?"

"Yes Hinata?" He turned to look down at her.

"Well uh... you see I w-wanted to ask you if you want to hang out again sometime?" Hinata asked while trying not relapse into old habits whenever she's nervous.

"Of course Hinata! I would love to hang out with you again." Naruto said with a warm smile.

Hinata's head shot up, her face stained with excitement "Really!"

Shortly after Neji walked up to them while they were in deep conversation.

Neji cleared his throat to get their attention, " I hope he's not saying anything inappropriate to you Hinata-sama."

Both of them looked up in surprise to see Neji standing above them, wondering how long he'd been standing there.

"No, Naruto hasn't said anything to bother me. He's just being Naruto." Hinata giggled.

"That's what worries me." With a concerned face he looked at Naruto.

"Hey! I'm not being inappropriate, I'd never do something like that." Naruto protested.

"Right, what about all those times with Sakura?"

"That was years ago, when I still had a crush on her. I'm long over that anyway, so could you just quit it." Naruto crossed his arms and pouted.

"Neji-nii-san can you please stop, we were just talking." Hinata pleaded.

"May I ask what you were talking about?"

"No" Naruto mumbled under his breath.

"We were just talking about what we were going to do later on today, right Naruto." Hinata shot a look at Naruto.

Technically she wasn't lying. They were talking about hanging out, she just didn't tell Naruto she meant today.

"Right." Naruto laughed nervously.

Neji looked at them both carefully before coming to a conclusion, "Well, alright. But Naruto if I find you've been doing some funny business with Hinata-sama I'll tear you to shreds."

"Roger that. Message understood, loud and clear." Naruto gave a salute to Neji, producing a crooked smile.

Hinata couldn't help but laugh at Naruto's response while Neji walked away.

"You're so silly." Hinata giggled as she playfully poked Naruto.

"You're cousin Neji scares me, I don't doubt he would tear me to shreds." Rubbing the back of his neck. It was a habit he developed whenever he was nervous, which Hinata thought was cute.

"So anyways, you want to hang out today? Is that what you're saying?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, but what would you like to do?"

"Ichiraku's!" Naruto almost shouted.

"Ok ok, keep your voice down." Hinata put her hand over her mouth to stifle the laughing, "Ichiraku's it is."

"Yay!" Naruto whispered as loud as he could while slightly pumping his fist in the air, causing both ninja to burst into a fit of laughter.

Naruto and Hinata continued to talk in deep conversation like they usually did for hours, until it was around dinner.

"I think it's time for me to head home." Hinata started to get up.

"Oh, okay. I guess I'll see you later then." Naruto mumbled, looking at the ground with a disappointed look.

"Oh! I almost forgot. Did you want your shirt back when I go home to change?" Hinata asked, remembering that she was still wearing a shirt Naruto let her borrow.

"Nah, it's fine. You can keep it. It looks good on you anyways." Naruto looked up at her with a smile.

Hinata felt her face heat up as it turned pink.

 _"Did he just say I looked good again? Is this really the Naruto I remember? No he couldn't have meant it that way, quit being silly Hinata."_

Hinata giggled as she turned to leave, "I guess I'll see you later then Naruto-kun."

"Yeah I guess I will. I'm looking forward to that meal later today," Naruto had his fox-like grin on his face again.

"Me too," Hinata turned to look at the blonde still sitting on the ground before walking home.

Naruto just sat there and watched the Lavender beauty walk away until she was out of sight before getting up to go home. While watching her, that same feeling he felt earlier in his chest appeared again.

 _"What is this feeling? Why am I feeling this?..."_ Naruto pushed the thought aside, and started to walk home.

 _"Is Naruto complimenting me as a friend? Or is he saying it because he- no he's not, he's always seen me as just a friend. There's no way he'd think of me like that."_

But Hinata couldnt rid herself of those thoughts, they just tugged at her, teasing her. Causing her to question why Naruto was so nice, yes they were best friends, but breakfast in bed, allowing her to use his shower. Letting her keep his shirt, and complimenting her quite a few times. Was this all the works of a best friend or was it because he liked her? No, he couldn't, he's never shown any affection after all these years. Hinata did her did best to push those thoughts aside.

When she got home she changed into her lavender hoodie and a pair of black sweatpants. Hinata washed and dried the shirt Naruto gave her, and put it to her face inhaling the scent. It still smelled like Naruto, just at the thought her face turned pink.

Hinata collapsed onto her bed and let out a big sigh of relief. She couldn't wait until she goes to Ichiraku's with Naruto.

* * *

Naruto just laid on his bed while staring at his ceiling. He was dumbstruck at this new feeling in his chest and was at a loss to even try to explain it.

 _"Why am I feeling this whenever I look at, or even think of, Hinata?"_

He was so caught up in thought he didn't hear the pot on the stove squeal, indicating it was ready.

 _"I mean, I'm her best friend, I shouldn't think of her in that way should I? I doubt she thinks of me like that so doing so would only make things awkward, wouldn't they? Argh! Why can't I stop it, this feeling, I shouldn't be feeling it..."_

Naruto fisted his hair in frustration and rolled over to see the water boiling over the pot onto the stove and floor. He instantly jumped up and ran to the stove, turned it off and tried to move the pot as he cursed himself. He grabbed the hot pot and dropped it from the pain.

"AHHOTHOTHOT! Ow!" Naruto yelled in pain as he held his burnt hand. He went over to the sink and put it under cold water until the swelling went down. Afterwards he wrapped his hand in bandages before pouring the water into his ramen cup.

 _"Great now I have a burnt hand and a mess I still need to clean up..."_

Naruto looked at the mess of water on the floor with a frown. He started slurping noodles when the door bell rang.

Who had the nerve to come to his house at this hour and disturb him, he was not in a good mood to talk right now.

Naruto almost stomped over to the door and peeked through the peep hole to see who it was, deep down he secretly hoped it was Hinata.

To his surprise, it was Sakura and she looked worried and excited at the same time. Naruto swung the door open, "Sakura what are you doing her-" Sakura had jumped into his arms and started crying.

"What's wrong? Hey what's going on, why are you crying?" Naruto looked down at her with concern.

Sakura let go of him and wiped her tears, "Come with me," she smiled. Naruto was dragged out of his apartment as he complained.

"Hey what about my ramen! I just started eating." Naruto used his free hands to reach for the door frame but couldn't grasp it. "Hey Sakura what's so important that you had to drag me out of my house while I was eating ramen?" Naruto whined.

"You'll see" Sakura smirked as she tightened her grip on Naruto's collar.

"Can you at least tell me where we're going?" He pouted.

"The main gate. Cheer up Naruto, you can get more ramen later."

"Wait why are we going to the main gate, we don't have another mission do we?!" Naruto whined. "Nobody told me about it, now I'm never gonna get a chance to eat ramen," Naruto crossed his arms and looked at the ground while he was being dragged by the collar.

"Quit your complaining, I think you'll be excited when we get there" Sakura giggled.

"Why would I be excited about a mission, the only way that'd happen is if it was an A rank or higher. Is it Sakura?" Naruto questioned.

Sakura looked at him, "Something of the sorts."

 _"There goes my evening with Hinata."_

As they got closer to the main gate, Naruto noticed it was getting more and more crowded. "Sakura why is there so many people here? What's going on?"

Sakura laughed, "You'll see soon enough."

They managed to move past the huge crowd and Sakura let go of Naruto, causing him to hit the ground. "HEY! What was that for Sakura! That hu-" he looked at her frozen expression, she wasn't paying attention to him, so he followed her gaze. When he met the target she was looking at he froze too.

"Sas-" Was all he managed to get out. He look at the man standing at the main gate. It was none other than the kid he always tried beating at everything back then when he was a Genin, Sasuke Uchiha.

Sasuke's gaze drifted from Sakura's to Naruto and locked. Neither dared to look away as they bore holes in each other's heads. Naruto was glaring at him with resentment and sorrow. Sasuke returned his determined gaze with the same intensity in his cool, calm demeanour.

Naruto snapped out of his shock and pushed Sakura out of the way, produced a shadow clone; who ran away out of sight. Then pulled shurikin from his pouch ready to throw them. "You! What are you doing here!" Naruto was filled with anger and sadness, tears evident in his eyes.

"Naruto what are you doing?!" Sakura yelled.

"I'm dealing with a threat." Naruto bit back a cry.

"I'm here because this is my home, idiot." Sasuke said as he looked at his friend, with his hand unconsciously holding his sword just in case.

As much as Naruto wanted nothing more than his bestfriend to come back, it was awfully suspicious for him to do so after all these years and with nobody to escort him, even for Naruto. So he threw the shurikin, which were stopped by Sasuke's sword, as he ran towards him with with a kunai in hand.

"You think you can walk into the Village after being away for six years claiming you just want to return home!" He shouted as a tear rolled down his face. Sasuke brought his sword up to meet Naruto's kunai blocking his attack.

"You're always to jumpy for me," Sasuke said still keeping his cool.

"You're making too big of a scene Naruto" Sakura pleaded. Naruto looked around to see that everyone was watching with fear in their eyes.

Naruto jumped back and landed in front of Sakura. "Why? Why now do you decide to return to the Village? As much as I am happy inside, deep down a part of me is angry that you never accepted my offer to come back. You ignored me all those years and never batted an eye in my direction. Never thought once about how I felt. All you wanted was power, and threw away our friendship like it was nothing, and now you have the guts to come back and pretend nothing happened?" Naruto had a saddened expression as he shed a couple tears. He reluctantly took out some shurikin and threw them at his friend. As much as it pained him to do so, as far as he knew Sasuke was still with Oorochimaru, who intends to destroy Konoha. And if Sasuke was here to help set that plan in motion there was no doubt in his mind he needed to stop his friend.

Sasuke deflected all of the skurikin without any effort, "What's wrong? Is that all you got..." Sasuke looked up from the ground with a smirk on his face.

Naruto growled and weaved his hands producing another shadow clone, who created a Rasengan in Naruto's hand. Then the clone threw a smoke bomb down and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

A few kunai along with more shurikin came flying out of the smoke towards Sasuke who dodged the kunai and hit the shurikin to the ground. His eyes darted to his left side as he saw Naruto charge at him with his Rasengan. Charging his sword with lightning chakra he aimed for the rasengan and hit it, cancelling both attacks.

Naruto braced himself and slid backwards from the force of the attack, "What do you want?!" He yelled at Sasuke, barely able to control his emotions. "Why after six years of running away and not listening to me, do you come back now?" Naruto was on the verge of breaking down.

"I didn't run away, I went in search of power, and now that I have it I decided to return here... call it a whim." He glared at Naruto, a smirk tugging at his mouth.

This angered Naruto, "How do I know you don't still want to destroy the Village! Where's Oorochimaru?! He must be around here somewhere, that snake." Rage filled Naruto's eyes as he thought of Orochimaru, the man who took his best friend from him all those years ago, while he continued to attack Sasuke who was able to dodge and block all of his attacks, and land a few of his own.

Naruto was winded and stayed back a bit.

"Baka, if you're dying to know I'll tell you idiot. I killed him after I got what I wanted."

Naruto and Sakura's jaws dropped in shock, while everyone watching started whispering and chatting wondering if he's telling the truth.

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" Naruto questioned, Sakura nodded her head in agreement.

"I don't need to prove anything to you," Sasuke said in a low menacing voice.

"If you're not going to tell me the truth then I guess I'll have to beat it out of you!" Naruto shouted, biting his tongue. He really didn't want to use this mode on his closest friend. Naruto weaved the shadow clone hand sign and released the jutsu. Orange circles appeared around his eyes, and when he opened them they looked different, his pupils were horizontal bars and his eyes were green instead of the sapphire blue they normally were.

Sasuke looked closely at Naruto and noticed the changes, including his chakra. Naruto ran towards Sasuke at lightning speed, too fast for Sasuke to see normally, causing him to activate his Sharingan. Sasuke blocked all of his attacks, which had an enormous amount of force in them. He could barely keep up with Naruto who wasn't stopping. Naruto swung a right hook and Sasuke dodged it, but was still hit. A critical hit as it sent Sasuke flying into the main gates frame, which cracked upon impact.

 _"What was that? I dodged his attack, but was still hit."_ Sasuke looked confused causing Naruto to smirk.

"Looks like the idiot learned some new tricks after all." Sasuke retorted as he wiped the blood from his mouth.

"There's more where that came from, ya know." Naruto grinned.

"Naruto what are you doing?" Sakura cried.

"I don't fully trust him, you know what he's capable of, if what he says is true he could level the Village in seconds. As much as I'm happy to see this guy, I'm also very angry with him for ignoring me all these years." He yelled back. Sakura couldn't argue with that, but still, couldn't Naruto just try and talk with Sasuke instead of fight him.

Two more clones of Naruto appeared and started doing something in the originals hand. Sakura knew what they were doing and a terrified look crossed over her face. Sasuke took notice of her reaction, and looked back at what they were doing. He saw an enormous amount of chakra form in his hand.

He needed to stop this before it got out of hand.

A gust of wind and leaves appeared beside Naruto and he turned to see Sasuke standing there with his sword sheathed. He froze in place as he saw Sasuke's eyes meet his. Sasuke swore he saw Naruto crying silently as he was forming whatever Jutsu it was in his hands.

"Baka, you don't know when to give up do you?" Sasuke whispered as he put an arm on Naruto's shoulder. He then punched Naruto in the gut with enough force to knock him out.

Naruto slumped to the ground as the two clones disappeared. Sakura cried out with concern, but was stopped by the Uchiha's words.

"Don't worry, he's fine... a bit hurt but fine," Sasuke reassured her as blood trickled down Naruto's chin.

Hinata was on her way to Naruto's apartment when some kids ran by her in a hurry saying that there's a fight going on at the main gate. Intrigued by what they said, she thought she would go check it out before heading to Naruto's. She heard weapons clashing and explosions going off as she made her way through the huge crowd to the front. To her surprise one of the combatants was none other than Naruto himself, and even more shocking was his opponent, Sasuke Uchiha.

Hinata stood frozen in shock as she watched Naruto get hit by Sasuke multiple times while he couldn't land a single one. She wanted to run out and stop the fight and protect Naruto, but she couldn't. She was overtaken by fear of the Uchiha, all she could do was watch hopelessly as Naruto was losing. The battle went on for quite a while, and there were times when she thought Naruto was going to collapse but he kept at it. She also took note at the pained look Naruto had in his eyes as he fought Sasuke, almost as if he didn't want to hurt him.

With the two clashing non-stop, it would've been a sight to see for others, but for Hinata it worried her. She just prayed that her worst fears wouldn't come true.

Hinata saw Sakura was sitting on the ground, near the two fighting, helplessly watching as well.

She saw Naruto produce the two clones and realized they were creating his Wind Style: Rasen Shurikin. She tried to call out to him but couldn't, as if she lost her voice. Suddenly Sasuke was beside Naruto and hit him in the gut. When Naruto slumped to the ground Hinata's heart sank.

 _"Did he-? Did Sasuke... is Naruto..."_ Hinata stood there hopeless, thinking that her fears came true as she saw blood come from Naruto's mouth and drip all over his clothes.

Sakura looked around and saw Hinata in front of the crowd. Worry started to take her over as she looked at Hinata's hopeless heartbroken expression. She ran over to her after telling Sasuke to get their friend to the Hospital.

When Sakura reached Hinata, who was still looking at where the boys used to be as the crowd dispersed, put an arm around her and pulled her in. "Did Naru-" was all Hinata managed to say as tears started filling her eyes. She started trembling at the thought of it. Sakura tightened her grip on her friend, "It's alright, Naruto will be fine, he's just a little hurt." She heard Hinata let out a sigh of relief and start crying.

 _"She must truly love Naruto."_ Sakura thought as she watched her friend cry tears of joy at the news of Naruto still being alive. "Why... is S-Sasuke... h-here Sakura?" Hinata asked in between sobs.

"I don't know, but I intend to find out why. Don't worry about Naruto I'll take care of him, just go home and rest."

 _"I'm just glad Sasuke is back."_ Sakura told herself, trying to fight back tears of her own.

"No! I want to go see Naruto-kun," Hinata objected as she cried.

"You can't, his injuries are pretty bad so he won't have visitors for a while. Now go rest at home," Sakura elucidated, rubbing her friends back to comfort them.

Hinata wiped her tears with her sleeves, and looked directly in Sakura's eyes as she slowly smiled, "Please take good care of Naruto-kun for me."

"I will, don't worry, he'll be back to his normal jumpy self." Sakura chuckled, causing the pearl eyed girl to laugh.

"He better be."

Konoha's Hospital was quiet today with little patients coming in, so all the nurses and doctors were slacking until the front doors burst open with a loud crash as they hit the wall. All of them shot their heads up and looked at who was standing in the doorway. They were all frozen at the sight of Sasuke, until he yelled at them.

"He needs a doctor NOW!" Sasuke just looked at them all with concern in his eyes, he was the one to cause the injuries, but he was forced to because Naruto like the idiot he was didn't give up on trying to 'stop' him. "HELLO! He's hurt and needs attention immediately." His words caused one of the doctors and a couple nurses to take the unconscious blonde and put him onto a stretcher as they ran into the E.R.

Sasuke sat down in one the chair in the waiting room and held his head in his hands worrying for his friend. Something Naruto said during their battle struck a nerve in him.

An hour later the doctor who took his friend came out and walked up to Sasuke. "Your friend will be fine, his injuries are serious, but not fatal. If all goes well he'll be out of the hospital in a couple days." Sasuke didn't even realize he was holding his breath when he let out a big sigh of relief.

Sakura had come in just as the doctor had left Sasuke. She rushed over to him and asked him about Naruto, "So how is he? Is he alright?"

Sasuke had a smirk on his face, "Of course he's alright. When has the idiot ever come close to-" He trailed off not finishing his sentence.

Sakura sighed just as Sasuke did moments ago, "Thank god. Now I can give Hinata the good news."

Sasuke turned to look at her, intrigued by her comment, "What about Hinata?" He questioned.

"What you don't know about Hinata's feeli-"

She was cut off by Sasuke, "Of course I know about that. I mean what about out her, was she in the crowd?"

"Yeah she was, when I saw her she looked broken from what she just witnessed. She thought you-" Sasuke waved a hand letting her know he knew the rest.

Sasuke pretty much stayed at the Hospital, both from worrying about Naruto and the fact he didn't have a place to stay.

* * *

The next day was nice and bright out. It was the perfect day to go visit him. Hinata got out of her bed after stretching and walked to the bathroom, later she came out after she finished her shower, and had put a purple t-shirt on with blue jeans. Her hair was still damp when she left the house.

Walking around the shop Hinata searched for the flowers she was looking for. After awhile she found them and picked out three red roses.

As she did Hinata heard a voice come from behind her, "Ooo who are those for? Oh wait let me guess... Naruto." Ino squealed in excitement knowing she was right.

Hinata's face turned cherry red at Ino's voice. "N-No... what are you t-talking about?" She stuttered.

"Oh come on I know you have a thing for him." Ino teased.

The lavender girl scoffed at the comment, "I-I don't know what you're talking about," as she walked up to the counter to purchase her flowers.

"Oh come on, you totally do, you're blushing wildly at the subject of him."

The blonde girl teased her some more, "There's no need to be ashamed of liking him, he is kinda cute. I'd give him an eight, but he's not my type."

"Can I just buy the flowers please?" Hinata asked while she adverted her gaze not wanting to look at Ino, she was embarrassed about the subject.

"Sure, anything in the name of love right?" Ino was enjoying this too much as she giggled.

"I don't k-know what y-you're t-t-talking about..." Hinata stammered.

* * *

Sakura slid the door open and entered the room. It was quiet.. too quiet for her. She walked over to the bed and sat in the seat next to the window and stared at the boy who was sleeping soundly. He looked so peaceful, which made her shiver a bit, because Naruto was so energetic so seeing him still and calm, even if he was just sleeping, was creepy. Sakura stayed a little while longer before wishing Naruto the best and getting up to leave when she heard him talk.

"Hi-nata" he mumbled, the pink haired girl turned around to see that he was still sleeping.

 _"Hm you must miss her."_ she thought.

"Wait Hinata, it's alright I got you, you're alright. I'll keep you safe."

Sakura chuckled, _"The fool doesn't even know he's in love."_

She then turned back around and headed for the door. When she closed it behind her and turned to leave the Hospital she ran into Hinata, who was too busy looking down to notice her. "Oh Hinata. He's asleep so just be quiet when you enter ok." The pinkette warned.

"Oh, okay. Thanks Sakura-san."

Hinata entered the room and put the flowers into the vase near the window, then sat in the chair. She watched Naruto sleep wishing that he didn't get hurt. Her head was down while she was lost in thought.

"Hinata, don't worry..." he mumbled in his sleep. The girls head sprang up at the mention of her name, she looked at the boy and realized he was just talking in his sleep.

Just as she was about to put her head down again he started mumbling again, "I will always be there for you. Trust me I'll never let anyone hurt you." Hinata's pearl eyes widened at his comment as she slowly looked up at the blonde sleeping on the bed. "I..." Naruto practically whispered in his sleep as he rolled over facing the window. Hinata was in shock from what she just heard him mumble. Tears starting trickling down Hinata's face as she carefully watched Naruto sleep peacefully.

 _"Did he really just say... he actually cares for me that much."_ She thought as she silently cried.

"Naruto.." Hinata sobbed as she looked at him.

At the sound of his name Naruto's eyes opened and met pearl ones. They're gazes locked for a moment before Naruto tried to jump up in surprise. "Hinata! Ah, ow ow." Naruto winced as pain shot throughout his body.

His best friend jumped up and calmed him down helping him lay back down, "Don't move so quickly. You're still injured." She chastised him with a concerned voice while staring into his eyes, tears still filling hers.

"But, Hinata why are you crying? What happened? Did someone hurt you?" Naruto questioned, worry staining his face.

Hinata giggled, "No, no one hurt me. I'm fine. It's just a special someone just made my day." She explained as she wiped her tears.

"Who?" Naruto looked confused, and all Hinata could do was laugh at his question. "What's so funny? Am I missing something here?"

Hinata laughed even more as she smiled at him, " No its nothing, you're just being silly."

Naruto grinned while trying to slowly get up, again wincing from the pain, "Well I'm glad I'm able to make you laugh."

"Quit trying to move, just get some rest ok."

He looked at her before answering, "If you say so." Naruto sulked.

"How long have I been asleep for?" Naruto questioned.

"About a day and a half."

Naruto jumped up again from hearing her answer. "Ow Ow, where's Sasuke? I'll pummel him, that little..." he trailed off as he was in pain from moving too much.

"Calm down silly, he brought you here after the fight. Sakura is trying to get an honest answer from him."

Naruto's eyes widened when she mentioned the fight, "D-did you watch the fight?" His body started to shake a little and Hinata noticed.

"Hey its okay, I did watch the fight. I was on my way to your place when I heard a fight was going on, so I checked it out."

She smiled at him, "You did your best."

Naruto blushed a little when Hinata put her hand on his to comfort him, which was working. "So what have you been doing?" He looked at the blue haired girl.

"Not much, just the usual. Training with Neji and such... I mi-" Hinata trailed off. She got out of her chair and hugged him as he laid in the bed.

"If.. I were to get hurt would you be there to try and protect me.. as a friend?" Hinata carefully chose her words as she tried getting an answer.

"Of course I would. I'd never let anyone hurt you?" He had a confused look again.

She laughed as her grip tightened "Good."

Naruto wrapped his arms around her and let himself sink into her embrace, again he was feeling 'it' again. His heart raced as he laid there with Hinata in his hands.

 _"So he really meant it when he mumbled in his sleep."_ She thought as she buried her face into his neck. Naruto started to comfort her as he was rubbing her back and cooed her while she cried.

Just then the door to the room opened and Naruto saw Sasuke ,who was shocked at what he was seeing, stood in the room. Naruto shot a glare at him that shouted, "GET OUT!"

Sasuke quietly backed away smirking at what he was witnessing until he was out of the room and the door was shut.

"Hinata." Naruto held her chin to make her look at him, "There's no need to worry. As long as I'm alive I won't let you get hurt." She stared deep into the boys sapphire eyes.

She buried her face into his chest, "Thank you Naruto-kun." Her voice heightened at the last part. His heart skipped at beat when she said his name like that and melted into her arms like puddy, enjoying the embrace.

* * *

Sakura was walking down the hall towards Naruto's room with some flowers when she spotted Sasuke waiting outside it with a smirk on his face. "Sasuke-kun? What are you doing here?"

He looked at her with the smirk still on his face, "Same as you."

She was about to walk in when Sasuke stopped her, "I wouldn't do that if I were you"

Sakura got impatient, "Who are you to tell me wha-" He placed a finger over her mouth and pointed inside the room. She followed the direction he was pointing and saw Hinata embracing Naruto as he comforted her.

"Ohhh."

Ten minutes later they both heard the door open and saw Hinata emerge. They stayed quiet as she bowed and left the two.

* * *

Naruto heard his door open again and this time saw Sakura and Sasuke come in. "So why is he here?" He looked at Sakura for an answer, who was as clueless as him.

"Yes Sasuke, why are you here?"

Sasuke cleared his throat before speaking, "I'm here because I decided to protect the Village rather than destroy what my Brother tried so hard to protect." His words left both speechless for what seemed like hours.

"What do you mean your Brother?" Naruto broke the silence.

"I mean I'm going to continue what my brother did and protect the Village. It's a long story. All this time he was pretending to be the bad guy when he actually was protecting his home." Sasuke scoffed in his low, emotionless voice.

* * *

 **Edit 2** : I hope I've managed to pique your interest. This chapter was, well... a first attempt, and looking back at it I felt so stupid and embarrassed about the whole thing, for all the errors and having the characters a bit OoC. So I finally decided to come back and update it so the story would make more sense, mostly on the emotional side *cough* Fight scene. That part when I first wrote it was seriously centered around the fight rather the emotion, because I was scared I'd fall short since fight scenes are not my forte. So in the end I eventually forgot about portraying the emotion and solely focused on the fighting like an idiot.

Just putting this out there. Before I edited and revised the chapter it had 7.3k words and after I finished and saved it had 7.9k words. Guess I put more description in the story than I initially thought while revising it.

I really hope you enjoyed the first chapter and are interested in reading more. You may fav, follow, review if you wish. Until then, PEACE!


	2. Forgive but never forget

Well it's been a short while since I posted chapter 1 and I'm doing this chapter on both my phone and laptop. Anyways on with the story. Please enjoy :)

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.** **I wish I did, but tbh it'd probably be really bad, but on the bright side it would be really fluffy and have less fillers.**

"Talking"

 _"Thoughts"_

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Forgive but never forget**

* * *

Naruto and Sakura were dumbstruck at Sasuke's bold statement he just made. "Wait?! What are you saying? You're telling us that Itachi, your older brother, who massacred his entire clan except for you in the span of one night, did it all in the name of protecting the Village?! Do you know how crazy you sound right now?!" Naruto yelled in annoyance.

"I know it doesn't sound reasonable at all, I felt the same way you do right now when I found out, until the reasons for his abrupt actions were clear," Sasuke tried explaining.

"What are you saying Sasuke-kun? You're brother had ulterior motives in leveling his clan?" Sakura's curiosity got the better of her.

"That's exactly what I'm saying. He didn't do it for pleasure or to test his ability, in fact he wasn't alone that night. He had help, Itachi went around killing all the civilians, along with any shinobi who tried stopping him. While his accomplice tackled Konoha's Police Force at the same time. Within minutes the whole massacre was finished before a single soul could run to get help from the Village. That was when I was running home in a hurry since I was late. I still remember the genjutsu he put me under and showed me what happened, when he killed the entire clan... and our parents." Sasuke sent shivers down his own spine just by thought of what he witnessed.

"It was torture, he showed it to me multiple times, of the massacre, but I digress. Anyways the reasons as to why he asked for help with slaughtering the clan was because the Uchiha were fed up with the treatment they received from the Village and their Leaders, so they planned on overthrowing the Village's Leaders with a coup de'tat. The Hokage and it's elders were aware of this and were at a dispute on how to approach the Uchiha, either try to resolve the issue through communication or ambush them at the dead of the night and slaughter them all before they could make a move. In the end they chose the latter over the former, but to their surprise when they had deployed all of their ANBU forces into the Uchiha's District it was already said and done. The next day in the evening Itachi appeared before the Third Hokage and was told to run from the Village and take the consequences of being branded as a traitor to his Village and would have to be on the run for the rest of his life. He accepted his fate and joined an organization to keep on eye on their movements and to make sure a certain someone kept a promise they had made to Itachi. My brother made me hate him, resent him and want to kill him for what he did to not only our parents but to our clan."

Anger was clearly visible in Sasuke's eyes. "But all of what he did was to save the Village, because if he didn't kill my entire clan, they would've tried to overthrow the Village Leaders, thus resulting in a civil war between the Village, and the end result would've been the destruction of Konoha." The anger in his eyes was replaced with sorrow and remorse.

"Hey, it's okay you didn't know what his true motives were at the time," Sakura tried consoling him while rubbing his back.

Naruto looked at Sasuke with disbelief, "So he was a... hero?" Naruto mumbled trying to wrap his head around the situation.

"Something of the sorts," his rival smirked as he regained his composure, "Though he wasn't seen that way, even by the ones who ordered him to do it."

Naruto had a question that was bothering him since he found out about the truth, "Hey Sasuke, how did you find out about this?" Naruto questioned with a confused look.

"Baka, who do you think idiot," Sasuke growled.

"I don't know?"

It was then Sakura's turn "You found out through his accomplice!" Sakura almost yelled, proud of herself for being able to figure it out.

"Ohhh... wait what?" Naruto was puzzled again as Sasuke and Sakura both facepalmed.

"What he means is that the person who helped Itachi slaughter the Uchiha clan was the one who told him about the truth." Sakura tried explaining in a more detailed simple matter, hoping Naruto would understand.

"Okay I get it now, but how did you run into this person and who are they?" Naruto looked at Sasuke.

"Well if you're both dying to know, he was also an Uchiha, and he saved me after I managed to kill my brother, but nearly at the cost of my own life." Sasuke stated in a voice full of regret.

Naruto and Sakura were both once again dumbstruck by their friends words. "What do you mean he was an Uchiha, I thought you and Itachi were they only two left?!" Naruto yelled.

"Baka, don't you think I know that, but he was, he showed me his Sharingan, or more specifically his Mangekyou Sharingan. After he finished telling me the truth about Itachi's actions he let me decide on whether or not I wanted to still destroy Konoha or follow in his footsteps. I chose to follow Itachi's wishes, at which the man was a little hesitant to let me go but eventually he reluctantly let me leave in peace. In the end all is well, since I did help the allied Forces."

Naruto whispered as loud as he could, "What do you mean all is well? This is all very new information and you expect everyone will take it lightly after what you tried to do?!" Sakura agreed with Naruto.

"No I don't, but I will endure until everyone is comfortable with it."

It was Sakura's turn to talk, "I don't doubt you on what you're saying, but in all honesty there are some people in the Village who still hold grudges against you."

A huge grin appeared on Sasuke's face, nearly identical to Naruto's trademark grin, "Well I guess some 'accidents' are in order." Naruto and Sakura just sat there with disbelief and terror in their eyes as they took his words seriously. "What?! I was joking, I can't joke once in awhile?" Sasuke complained, "or am I?" He grinned again as he saw his former teammates gulp at his comment.

"Sasuke c'mon don't say things like that, we're your friends so we know you're not serious about it because if you were you wouldn't have stood at the main gate's entrance just standing there. But if you say things like that to the other people in the Village they won't take it lightly." Sakura pleaded.

"Yeah Sakura's right, and I'm the only one who does the pranks and jokes around here!" Naruto whined in agreement.

"Aww, you're jealous he managed to scare you with his prank aren't you Naruto?" Sakura teased.

"N-No, I just don't like his jokes, they're not funny, so I told him to back off on the pranks and leave it to the master prankster." Naruto pouted.

"Keep telling yourself that." Sasuke replied with a smirk tugging his mouth.

"Oh yeah Sasuke, just you wait, I'll prank you so bad that you'll wish you never returned to the Village." Naruto blurted out.

"We'll see about that dobe." Sasuke scoffed.

Sakura couldn't help but laugh, they were starting to fall back into old habits of trying to one-up each other.

 _"It feels good having them back to normal, like back when they were first starting out as Genin. the constant bickering and fighting, I can't believe I actually missed that."_ Sakura thought before she was brought back to reality.

"Sakura tell him that I'm the Number One Prankster still." Naruto asked while glaring at Sasuke who was glaring back. They both growled and turned their heads away simultaneously and pouted.

 _"Oh boy, I take that back. I'm in for it now."_ Sakura complained in her mind.

"You guys are friggin 19 years old and you're still acting like children! Just stop it now!" Sakura was fed up with their petty argument and put up her fist, which chakra started to collect in.

"Oh boy, she's gonna hit someone!" Naruto cried in fear. The next second there was a loud crash in the hospital room and Naruto's face was implanted in the wall next to the bed.

"Why'd you only hit me?!" Naruto whined.

"BECAUSE YOU'RE THE ONE WHO STARTED THE FIGHT IN THE FIRST PLACE!" Sakura shouted.

"Serves you right dobe," Sasuke retorted. That's when Sakura directed her attention to Sasuke, "Would you like one too!?" At her remark she swore she saw a little tinsy bit of fear in Sasuke's eyes but passed it off thinking it was just her imagination.

"No thanks, I'll pass on the offer." He laughed.

"You know Sakura, you don't have to hit me so hard." Naruto got back up and was rubbing his now bruised cheek.

"Sorry, I'll bandage it for you." She pulled out her medkit, feeling a bit guilty for injuring him further.

"There, all better now." Sakura looked proud because of her skills as a medical ninja.

"Thanks Sakura, but you wouldn't of had to bandage me in the first place if you didn't hit me."

Sakura's eyes started to fill with guilt, "Yeah I know, I just got fed up with the arguing and acted without thinking and ended up hitting you for starting the argument." Sakura said in a disappointed tone.

"He's right Sakura, but then again it's dobe so you shouldn't really worry too much. This could kid could take a beating and still be alive and standing." Sasuke punched Naruto on the arm.

"OW! That hurt, ya know." Naruto complained.

"It's suppose to you idiot."

Sakura couldn't help but laugh at them.

"See dobe we did it." Sasuke said as he pointed to the medical ninja who was laughing now

"I guess you're right." He pouted while rubbing his sore arm.

The pink haired girl regained her composure, "Well I guess we should be going now, see you around Naruto." Sakura started to get up and leave the room with Sasuke hot on her trail.

"Uh, yeah I guess." Naruto waved goodbye to his friends.

When the room went silent he couldn't help but feel the loneliness that crept in. He was looking around the room and his eyes naturally drifted towards the roses in the vase.

 _"Wait when did I receive flowers, and who gave them to me?"_ In the end he couldn't think of anyone so he pushed those questions aside and went to bed as the sun started to set.

* * *

"So where are you going to stay Sasuke-kun?" the pinkette asked curiously.

"I'm going to see if my apartment is still standing, and if so I'll sleep there." Sasuke stated.

"But what if your old apartment is no longer yours, then what?" Sakura inquired.

"Then I'll pay a visit to the Hokage." his said in a low voice.

"Oh right, the Hokage, we or more specifically you need to go see the Hokage and ask if it's okay for you to return, despite all of things you tried to do." Sakura trailed off thinking that it wasn't going to work.

"Yeah I'll talk to him about that while I'm there." Sasuke then started jumping from rooftop to rooftop to reach the Hokage's tower quicker, with Sakura right behind him.

"Why are you tagging along anyways, isn't your mom going to get angry at you for staying out late?" Sasuke questioned.

"Oh... no reason really." Sakura blushed a little, "And my mom doesn't have control over my life, I'll be late if I want." She said boldly.

 _"Oh boy, my mom's gonna kill me when I get home tonight."_

Sasuke looked at her before replying, "Alright then." he had a smirk on his face.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing, it's just last I recalled you're mother would always nag at you, and whenever you didn't listen about certain rules she'd either yell at you or punish you. But who knows maybe she's changed." His smirk turned into an almost sadistic smile on his face.

 _"Welp. He remembers how my mother is, just great, he's going to get quite the laugh."_

The two reached the tower and entered through one of the hallway windows to avoid the guards down below. Both of them were cautious and waited until the coast was clear for them to make a mad dash towards the Hokage's office. They quickly shut the door behind them and let out a big sigh of relief before a voice was heard from behind, "Ah so I see you've made it. I started to worry you wouldn't show your face Sasuke." The voice chuckled.

"And Sakura I shouldn't be surprised to see you here." The man grinned, causing Sakura to blush and advert her gaze from both Sasuke and the Hokage.

 _"I don't know what you're talking about."_ She thought.

"Sorry to bother you at this time of night, Lord Hokage." She bowed her head.

"So what is it that you've come here at night to see me for?" He looked at Sasuke.

"I came to ask if my apartment was still intact and in my possession."

"And why is that?" inquired the Hokage.

"Because I intend to stay here." Sasuke looked the man dead in the eye.

"Can ask for the reason behind such actions, for precaution, since you were and are still a rogue ninja."

"My intentions are to help protect the Village, like my brother Itachi did." Sasuke stated.

He thought about it for a moment before answering, "Very well, but I'll have to assign ANBU to watch over you just in case." The Hokage flared his chakra and an ANBU member appeared in a poof of smoke.

"You called Lord Hokage." The ANBU kneeled before him.

"I want you to set up a team of the best ANBU you can find and have them stationed to watch over Sasuke, until I'm sure he doesn't have any ulterior motives for being in the Village."

The ANBU was surprised by the Hokage's request and turned to see Sasuke standing beside Sakura. "Yes Lord Hokage, I'll get on that right away." Thus he disappeared as fast as he appeared.

"Well it's settled, you can stay here, but under surveillance until I see that it's unnecessary. And your apartment has been left untouched since you left, no one dared to enter it." The Hokage stated as he waved the two shinobi to leave.

* * *

The sun was shining brightly as there was little overcast, allowing the light to pierce through the curtains of the hospital window causing Naruto to wake up. He felt much better after a good night's sleep and yawned while stretching his arms when he heard a knock on his door, "ONE SECOND" he called out as he got out of his bed and stretched his body working all the kinks out of it before moving to the door. When he opened it he found a shy Hinata standing outside it, with a bag in hand.

"W-What are you doing here?" Naruto asked, shocked by her being here so early.

"Oh, o-okay I'll leave you be then. Sorry to bother you." Disappointment heard in her voice as she turned to leave.

"No, wait I didn't mean it like that. I'm just shocked that I have visitors this early in the morning." Naruto blurted out as he gently grabbed Hinata's arm to stop her. "By all means come in."

Hinata's face had a slight tinge of red from him grabbing her, "T-Thank you Naruto-kun." She walked into his room and placed the bag on the table near the hospital bed.

"What are you doing here so early Hinata?" Naruto was rubbing the back of his neck (unconsciously).

 _"Arrgh! Quit it Naruto. Stop it, just stop it. Why is just being in her presence so difficult? you never used to feel this way before."_ He was having a mental battle with his new emotions he still didn't understand.

"I thought you might be getting tired of the food they serve here so I thought I'd bring you some food to eat for breakfast." Hinata turned around to only see Naruto staring at her and instantly froze.

She started to examine his body and noticed that he looked almost back to normal except for a bandage that was on his left cheek. "W-What happened to your face? I don't remember that being there yesterday." she in her usual meek tone.

"Oh this, it's nothing really. Sasuke and I were having an argument and Sakura got fed up and punched me. It's no big deal." he laughed a bit. Hinata on the other hand laughed at thought of Naruto and Sasuke fighting like they usually did back then, but her heart felt a stinging pain when Naruto mentioned Sakura punching him, she didn't think he deserved a punch for a petty argument, and knowing Sakura's short temper towards Naruto it was probably a really forceful one.

"Can I have a look at it if you don't mind me asking?" She asked adverting her gaze.

"Uh, sure I don't see why not." Naruto replied.

Hinata put her hand up to his face and peeled the bandage off a little before asking, "You ready?" Naruto nodded in response and closed his eyes in anticipation.

As he nodded she ripped the bandage off quickly to try and make it painless as possible, but Naruto still groaned in pain.

"You okay?" Hinata asked, and Naruto nodded again. Her eyes slowly drifted from his eyes to the big bruise on his cheek, which was nearly black and was the size of a tennis ball with it fading back to his normal colour around it,(A/N: Keep in mind this is after Sakura healed it a bit). Hinata felt a pain to her heart again as she saw the injury on his face. She wanted to pull him in and hug him, but did her best to restrain herself.

"So how is it doctor? Am I going to live or not?" Naruto asked in a worried tone while he had a sad look on his face.

Hinata caught on, "Well by the looks of it, it's a pretty serious wound, but not fatal, count yourself lucky Sir if it were any worse it probably would be a fatal wound." She played along pretending to be an expert doctor.

"Phew... I was scared for a minute there, I t-thought I might not make it doc, you're a live saver." Naruto pretended to sound relieved and happy.

"No problem, it's my job to make sure people are healthy and well. I wouldn't want anything happening to you now would I." Hinata had a smile on her face but it faded quickly as she realized what she just said.

Naruto was enjoying this and had a mischievous grin spread across his face, to which Hinata looked away and blushed. "I-I didn't mean to sa-"

She was cut off as Naruto put his hands in her hair and messed it all up, "What are you talking about? It's all good."

Hinata looked at him with a pouty face, "I didn't find that funny," but he was still grinning.

"But I found it funny."

Hinata decided to get payback and mess up his hair in return, but he anticipated it and sidestepped out of the way. Hinata almost fell before Naruto caught her by the waist. She started blushing again as he lifted her back on her feet.

"If you already forgot, my hair is already technically messy." He pointed to his spiky blonde hair. Hinata managed to catch him off guard and took the opportunity to get payback. She reached up and quickly ruffled his hair turning it into an even bigger mess and she giggled while looking at the result.

"Hey! That's not fair, now my hair's even messier.. if that's even possible." Naruto whined.

Hinata couldn't help but giggle even more as he complained about his hair, "It serves you right for messing mine up, ya know." She imitated Naruto's speech pattern.

"I can't argue with that." Naruto replied while trying to fix his hair.

Naruto glanced down at the Lavender haired girl and realized that she didn't look too bad with messy hair, it almost complimented her in a way.

"With that hair right now you look cute, ya know." But realized what he said after he saw her blush a bright red. "I-I mean you look good even though you're hair is messy." he blurted out, and dropped his head in defeat as he hit his forehead with his hand.

Hinata regained her composure and was smiling with a small blush, "Thank you Naruto-kun, that means a lot to me." She held his chin in her hand to make him face her. Naruto's heart skipped a beat as she said his name the same way she did last time. She couldn't tell if she was going crazy or not because she thought he was blushing lightly at her comment.

"So what's with the bag?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Oh right! I almost forgot, I brought some breakfast. I better get it set up fast before it goes cold." She scurried over to the bag and opened it letting the delicious aroma, of whatever was inside, out. Naruto's mouth started drooling as he recognized the smell instantly, and to confirm his assumptions Hinata pulled out a few bowls of ramen from Ichiraku's.

"HINATA! You're the best!" He exclaimed as he ran to her and hugged her.

She was shocked by Naruto's actions and hesitantly hugged him back before melting into his arms, "Well I thought since we missed out on eating at Ichiraku's the other day I thought I could bring some with me to your room and eat it here." Hinata explained.

Before long they both dug in and Naruto finished both his bowls within a minute while eyeing down Hinata's second bowl which she hadn't eaten yet. She looked at him as he stared at her second bowl, "Would you like my second bowl?" Naruto nodded his head instantly and she told him he could have it then, considering she wasn't very hungry anyways.

When they both finished their bowls of miso ramen, a doctor came into the room. "Mr. Uzumaki I've come to tell you that you're being discharged from the hospital and can now leave when you're ready." After that the doctor left the room to the two of them.

Naruto slowly turned his face towards Hinata and had a grin on his face, in which she looked at him with a sideways look. "What's with the grin?" she asked.

"I'M FREE FROM THIS HORRIFIC PLACE!" He jumped up and down as Hinata tried to hold in her laughter from watching him. Naruto quickly grabbed his fishnet shirt and coat to put them on while Hinata cleaned up the food.

Once she was finished Naruto grabbed her and dragged her out of the room, energetic as ever. "WAIT! the flowers!" Hinata exclaimed with disappointment on her face.

"Oh yeah, I never did figure out who gave them to me." Naruto ran back into the room to retrieve the flowers, "I'm gonna put them somewhere in my apartment when we get there." Naruto told himself as he grabbed Hinata's hand again, who instantly turned a dark shade of red since he was not only holding the flowers in one hand but her hand in his other as well.

On the way back to his apartment people were giving the two ninja weird looks and Naruto couldn't figure out why. It was then Hinata finally spoke up with a meek tone, "Um... N-N-Naruto-kun, could y-you let go of m-my hand," Naruto stopped in his tracks and forgot he was holding her hand along with the flowers in the other. He instantly turned a bright red and let go of her hand and realized why they were getting such looks. In the current situation it looked like they were a couple.

"Oh S-Sorry Hinata I f-forgot I was holding your h-hand." He apologized shyly trying to avoid looking at her.

"It's a-alright Naruto-kun, you didn't know." She giggled from his shy and nervous demeanor.

 _"I've never seen this side of Naruto-kun before, when did he become shy and nervous?"_ Hinata thought as they continued to walk side by side to his apartment.

"So what are going to do now?" Hinata asked. This question caught Naruto off guard as he never really thought of it, he just dragged Hinata along with him.

"Uh, how would some games sound?" Naruto answered her with a question of his own.

"Games sounds nice." Hinata was shocked a bit, she didn't think he'd ask her that, but regardless she accepted because she does play some herself.

Naruto let out a big "YES!" and quickly went back to walking, but at a fast pace because he started receiving odd stares from yelling out loud. Hinata ran to catch up with him and together they reached his apartment and started gaming and having fun for the rest of the day, chatting and goofing off.

* * *

So that's the end of this chapter, it's a bit smaller than the first but still packed with fluffiness and comedy, and I added a touch of seriousness.

So as you may have already noticed I'm trailing off of the anime, so therefore the story will only become more and more different as I continue on. Starting next chapter will be the beginning of that new change as I will be revealing one major character into the mix, who will add a whole new perspective onto the story as you'll see next time, along with a few others ones depending on what I do.

Due note that Naruto and the rest are now 18, which Naruto has reached Jounin rank after the Fourth Great Ninja War, but with different pieces mixed in and a different result than what we've seen so far. I know right, him being a Jounin finally is amazing (at least in my eyes it is). And as for the major new character they've already been shown in this chapter, I'm curious to see if anyone can name them? Well see you all until next time, PEACE!


	3. Family Matters

Here's chapter 3 for all of my viewers. The title should tell you what to expect for most of the chapter. I hope some of you managed to guess who was the new Major character that I'm introducing this chapter, I did leave a subtle but obvious hint if you were paying close attention to my wording in the previous one. I made this chapter longer than the last, since I felt that I went short last chapter. Without further ado I hope you all enjoy my latest chapter.

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

"Talking"

 _"Thoughts"_

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Family Matters**

* * *

It was nearing midday in Konoha as the skies were shining brightly with some overcast, which was expected to increase throughout the day. Naruto was reluctant to get up for the day, he was laying in his bed curled up in a ball with his sheets over his head and his eyes were shut tight trying not to let any of the sun's light in his eyes as he wanted to sleep in. But as he started to doze off again, he heard a loud ringing noise that made he jump out of his sheets. He stood facing his alarm clock, which he didn't remember setting for the weekend, with frustration and surprise in his sleepy eyes.

Naruto walked over to his alarm lazily and turned it off, _"who set my alarm for today... forget that who managed to get into my apartment without me knowing."_

While rubbing his eyes Naruto grabbed a ramen cup from his cupboard and poured water into a pot and set it on the stove. Sitting in his chair while waiting for the water to boil, he thought of last night, and remembered the late night gaming he had with Hinata.

 _ **FLASHBACK - Start (Last Night)**_

Hinata sat on the couch and waited for Naruto to pick out a game for them to play. She unconsciously stared at the blonde crouching in front of the TV and console sorting through his small collection until he stopped at one and grinned, to which he opened it and placed the disc in the console.

Naruto walked over to Hinata and handed her a controller and dropped down beside her as he smiled, "Ready to face defeat?" He looked at her questioningly.

She nodded her head and got ready to face him in the game he chose, which was a fighting game.

"I've played before but never really got into it." She tried to explain that she wasn't going to be much of an opponent to him.

"Well I'm not going to go easy on you." Naruto smirked.

They chose they're character, Hinata chose a woman who specialized in mid-long range attacks, while Naruto chose a man who specialized in close-mid range attacks. Once the match started Naruto character jumped over to Hinata's and started using martial arts on her, she tried escaping but was caught in his combo. Within seconds the match was over and Naruto finished her off.

"Hey! You didn't even give me a chance to move!" She complained, as Hinata lightly pushed her friend over.

"I did warn you I wasn't going to go easy on you." Naruto countered.

"Yeah, but I didn't think you actually meant it." Hinata tried explaining, "I want a rematch." She pouted.

Naruto laughed in response, "If you say so."

The second match started and again Naruto managed to finish Hinata's character off before she could make a move.

"Rematch." She said again.

Naruto laughed again as she was determined to beat him. The third match was almost the same, except Hinata managed to land some hits before losing. The cycle of rematches continued on, and as time went on Hinata was getting better, still not at Naruto's level but better than before.

A brilliant idea came to her as she was losing against him for the hundredth time. Hinata reached over and started messing with his controller while still using hers.

"HEY! That's not fair. You're cheating." Naruto whined as his character started getting hit multiple times, losing health big time.

In an attempt to stop her from messing with his controller, he pulled it away from Hinata's reach. To fix this Hinata started climbing onto to him as she tried reaching his controlling, laughing as they both fought to try and win, but in the end her plan failed.

"HA! I still beat you, even with your cheap trick." He smiled triumphantly while puffing his chest out.

"I want another rematch." Hinata whined.

Naruto accepted her request and not to his surprise she tried to do the same trick. This time he pulled away immediately and held the controller in the air as he continued to beat her character up. Hinata stood on the couch and reached for his controller but he brought it back down, causing her to topple on top of him. She heard a loud "UMPHH" as she fell over and they both started laughing.

"That wasn't nice." Hinata complained as she tried stifling her laughter.

"You messing with my controller isn't nice." He countered while laughing hysterically.

She got back up and off of Naruto to reach for his hair this time, and ruffled it until it looked beyond fixing. Hinata started giggling uncontrollably as Naruto's expression was a mix of shock and disbelief.

"How could you do that Hinata!" He whined as he ran to the mirror to fix his hair.

"I've never seen a guy so obsessed with the way his hair looked." Hinata giggled while watching him try and fix his hair, only to be disappointed that it was beyond that point.

"What was that for?" Naruto asked as he sat back down.

"For making me fall on you." She explained with an innocent smile on her face. "But... I'd still like a rematch." Hinata said while putting her index finger to her chin for emphasis.

"You've got yourself a rematch hime." Hinata turned red at the last remark. (A/N: For those of you who don't know hime means Princess in Japanese). "I mean Hinata, I meant Hinata." He blurted out realizing what he just said. "Anyways, you're getting better at this, you might actually beat me eventually." Naruto complimented her to try and change the subject.

Hinata regained her composure, "Oh really now? I've gotten that good in such little time?" She inquired looking at the nervous blonde sitting next to her.

"Yes, yes you have. Now let's continue our game." He said trying not to look at her.

When the match started Naruto started attacking her, but then backed off and pretended he couldn't land a hit. Hinata took the opportunity to go in for the kill, and managed to finish him off. When the game ended, she threw her arms up in the air screaming with joy, "I BEAT YOU! I BEAT YOU! I FINALLY BEAT YOU!" She teased.

"AW MAN! I can't believe I lost." Naruto pretended to be disappointed, when really he was happy to see Hinata so joyful. "See what I meant, you finally beat me."

"You're absolutely right! I did manage to beat you, all thanks to my determination." She said playfully as she poked her best friend's nose.

Hinata looked down at the watch on her wrist and the expression on her face went from overjoyed to worried. "Oh crap, it's really late, my Dad's probably furious!" she yelled in panic as she grabbed her coat and was about to run out the door when she stopped and turned around.

"Thanks for all the fun I had today Naruto-kun, I guess I'll see you tomorrow maybe?" But before Naruto could reply she was out the door.

 _"Phew, that was a close one earlier... I guess I should go to bed now too."_ He thought as he looked at his own watch.

 _ **FLASHBACK - End (Present Day)**_

The boiling water brought Naruto out of his thoughts, as he got up to turn the stove off and pour the water into the ramen cup. After pouring the hot water in the cup, he sat there waiting for the ramen to be ready.

 _"Who came into my apartment and set my alarm? It couldn't have been Hinata since she ran out in a hurry last night. And I was in the Hospital for most of the day yesterday, so anyone could've got in without me knowing, but who was it?"_

He pushed the thoughts aside and ate his ramen, then went and took a shower. He came out of the bathroom with one of his orange bathrobes with black outlining, not that he had another other kind of bathrobe, and went to change into his ninja outfit. Naruto walked over to his closet and picked out his white shirt, along with his black jacket and orange cargo pants. After looking in the mirror he took his ninja belt and ran out the door and locked his apartment.

Naruto turned around to leave after locking the place when an ANBU member appeared kneeling before him, "Lord Hokage wishes to speak with you."

"About what?" Naruto inquired the ANBU.

"He only told me that it was urgent." The figure then disappeared in a poof of smoke.

'What's so important that he needs me?'

Naruto ran off and started jumping across the rooftops towards the Hokage Tower. When he reached the building he stopped in front of the gate before entering the premises, and went upstairs to the Hokage's office. As he walked down the hallway towards the office he noticed that his teammates weren't waiting for him outside, which was odd. The door to the office opened as Naruto walked in and again, he noticed that Sakura and Sai were nowhere to be found.

Shutting the door behind him he walked up to the desk and sat down, "You asked for me? By the way, how come Sakura and Sai aren't here as well?" He said as he looked at the Hokage with a confused look.

"I see the alarm I set for you worked." the blonde man turned around in his chair with a grin on his face. His hair was the same as Naruto's except longer and a little more tamed. He wore a blue shirt with a Jounin vest overtop, along with blue cargo pants and a white Haori that had red flames surrounding the bottom and said, "FOURTH HOKAGE" on the back of it in red.

"IT WAS YOU WHO SET THE ALARM!" Naruto almost shouted, "You know I was really looking forward to sleeping in." He complained.

"Oh come on son, aren't you glad to see me." Minato smiled while looking at his son.

"No." Naruto mumbled under his breath while pouting. "The whole point of moving out is so you can live on your own Dad, it doesn't mean you can walk into my apartment whenever you please, especially if you're going to set an alarm for me."

"Forget about that. I did call for you, because I have a mission for you." Minato explained.

"If I have a mission, then shouldn't Sakura and Sai be here too?"

"No, this mission won't require them, you should be able to handle it by yourself." Minato said while examining his son.

"Wait really?!" Naruto sounded ecstatic at the sound of him soloing a mission.

"Yes really. Now onto the details of it." Minato paused to look at his son who was barely able to sit still at this point. "I need you to help me with the house. It's become messy and need help reorganizing it."

Naruto's jaw dropped, "ARE YOU JOKING ME! THIS IS WHAT YOU CONSIDER URGENT! COUNT ME OUT." He started getting up to leave when Minato reached out and grabbed his son's arm.

"Wait! I really need help with this, plus you might stumble upon stuff that might interest you." Minato pleaded.

"Dad you're a grown man, wow sounds really weird coming from me, you should be able to do it on your own." Naruto then started to leave again.

"DON'T LEAVE ME! I'LL PAY YOU!" Minato begged.

"You're bribing me?" Naruto questioned.

"You're my son."

"THAT MAKES IT WORSE!" Naruto shouted.

"C'mon do it for your father... for old time sake." Naruto didn't pay attention and continued to leave.

Minato was determined to get his son to help. "Please.. If you're not going to do it for me then do it for Kushina."

Naruto stopped in his tracks from hearing his mother's name.

 _"I got him now."_ Minato thought.

"What about Mom?" Naruto asked, curious as to why his father would bring her up.

"If she were here she would want you to help with the house." He explained.

Naruto choked a bit, "I'm pretty sure if Mom was here I'd have no choice, she would force me to help clean it." He chuckled a bit, from reminiscing about how his Dad always told him stories about his mother.

"Well, I can't argue with that. She definitely would make you clean the house or at least help." Minato admitted.

"Fine, I'll help you clean the house, but it's so you stop begging me, heck you even tried bribing me. I'll see you later then." And with that Naruto left the Hokage's Office.

 _"YES!"_ Minato thought as he pumped his fist in the air. He sat back down in the chair and disappointedly got back to work.

Hinata was just glad to get out of the house. Her father was lecturing her about being out late and the house rules, and so on. She didn't like it whenever he would decide to lecture her for being a little late, a couple hours isn't so bad is it? She decided to go get some sweets when she came across an unhappy Naruto.

"Morning Naruto-kun." She greeted him. She didn't like seeing him unhappy, and it definitely wasn't like him to be so. He was always energetic and enthusiastic about almost everything. It hurt her chest to see him like this.

"Oh, hey Hinata." Naruto said in an almost depressed tone. She turned around and started walking with him.

"What's wrong? Is it because I ran off in a hurry last night?"

"No, it's nothing like that."

"Then how come you're sad?" Hinata leaned forward a little while looking at him.

He sighed in defeat, "It's my Mom. My Dad brought her up and now she's all that's on my mind."

"Oh, what about you're Mom?"

They both walked over to a bench and sat down. "Well, it's just I never met my mom, until the Ninja War. She died when I was an infant, and I was a bit older when I found out that it was because she sacrificed her life to save mine, my father's and the Village. She helped my Dad seal Kurama in my Dad and I at the cost of her own life. I didn't even know that he also had Kurama in him, until the War when he transformed into his Nine-Tails Chakra Mode and together we managed to take down Madara." Naruto confessed to her.

"Oh, I'm sorry I asked, I didn't mean to-" She was cut of by her friend, who started crying. "Hey, Naruto-kun what's wrong?" She questioned with a concerned tone.

"My Dad would always tell me stories of my Mom and him when I was little, and just the thought of those happy stories makes me sad that I never had her in my life. I can't help but wonder what my life would've been like if she didn't die." Naruto wiped his tears with his jacket.

"Hey it's okay, everything's going to be okay. Your Mom would be sad if she saw you like this, if anything she probably would want you to be happy." Hinata pulled Naruto into a hug as she cooed him.

"You're right Hinata, she would... but I can't help it. It's all I'm thinking now... I just wish she was here with my Dad and I." Naruto said in between sobs.

Hinata pulled him away and held his chin up to her, "Hey, look at me. Everything's okay, you have me remember." She smiled, until she realized what she said. "I mean I'm your best friend, you can always come tell me anything, I won't judge." She was glowing red, and before she turned away, she thought she saw a blush on Naruto's face as well.

Naruto blushed at what she just said and his heart started beating uncontrollably, _"Why am I feeling this way about her, it's wrong, we're just friends. I doubt she feels the same way as I do."_ He quickly did his best to regain control over himself.

"Thanks Hinata, that means a lot to me. Honestly, I don't know what I'd do without you." Naruto said as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Anyways, I need to get going, I have some stuff to take care of, maybe we can hang out later?"

"Yeah sounds good. I'm glad I could help you Naruto-kun." Hinata hugged him once more before she playfully punched his arm, "Now go and finish whatever it is you need to do."

"Okay, thanks again Hinata." Naruto got up and started running towards his old home with a smile on his face.

Naruto reached his old house, it wasn't much. It was pretty small and was only able to house a small family. On the outside there were three windows all beside each other, one looking into what was a former bedroom, and the other two looked into the kitchen. The front door was on a porch that led to a set of stair which connected the house with the dirt road.

He opened the door to the house to be greeted by piles of what looked like junk.

 _"What happened here while I was gone!"_

"Ah there you are Naruto, I'm glad you came." His father came and gave him a hug. "Okay so I don't really know where to start sadly." Minato nearly whispered the last part.

Naruto just stood there in awe at the mess, the coffee table was covered in piles of what looked like paperwork, while the bookshelves off to the left of the living room had all kinds of books in a big mess with some more paperwork. The couch was also suffering from the mess, as it had pictures and a few books along with what looked like letters. And Naruto didn't even want to get started with the kitchen. What he couldn't fathom the most is that this was all done by his father. The place used to look fairly neat when he was a child, a couple books and some paperwork here and there, other than that the house was pretty clean back then.

"Dad... what.. happened?" Naruto uttered in disbelief.

"Uh, yeah about the mess, it's been accumulating over the years since you left." Minato chuckled nervously.

"Why? Why after I left. Couldn't you have just done your best to keep it how it was after I was gone?" His son questioned.

"Well, you see when you left, I started focusing on work more and eventually started bringing it all home to get it done. Over the years it became piles here and there until it reached this point."

"I thought it was going to be some petty mess that you could've easily done yourself, but this... this is beyond me. I'm almost inclined to go get Hinata, or even Sakura to help us organize the place." Naruto explained his thoughts.

"No don't do that, we can handle this. We just need to put in effort and use our heads to organize it."

"I don't know.. this is a pretty big mess. What is all this stuff anyways?" Naruto asked.

Minato rubbed the back of his neck and tried explaining, "I don't really know at this point. I know some of it is old photos of us and your mother, others are letters from god knows who, while the majority is paperwork." He started laughing nervously, scared his son might start judging him harshly.

"Wait! Old photos of us, as well as you and Mom, why didn't you say that in the first place! Let's get to it." Naruto exclaimed with excitement just at the thought of seeing the photos of his mother again.

"Wait a second if you're here, then does that mean no one's at the Hokage Tower, or are you a shadow clone?" Naruto accused his father.

He ran into his father's room, which was surprisingly clean compared to the living room and kitchen and opened his closet. The Haori was missing.

"I knew it! you ARE a shadow clone!" Naruto ran out to his father and punched him in the arm.

"OWW! I didn't ask you to help me so you could hit me." Minato whined.

"Wait why didn't you disappear like a shadow clone would?" Naruto now looked confused.

"That's because I'm the real deal kiddo."

"Does that mean the you at the Hokage Tower is a shadow clone then?" Naruto asked.

"Of course it does. He's taking care of all the business while I stay here and try to reorganize the place with you." Minato smiled.

"Well let's get on it. I want to see what I can find!" Naruto was ecstatic just thinking about the photos.

Naruto weaved the shadow clone hand sign to produce three clones, while his father did the same and produced one of his own. Together they started sorting through all of the junk. Minato's clone was doing his best to organize the place while ordering Naruto's clones on what to do. Meanwhile the originals were busy in the kitchen.

"Dad why are there so many dishes!" Naruto fisted his hair while looking at the horrific mess in front of him.

Minato let out a nervous laugh, "Well, I've been so busy as the Hokage that they never got cleaned."

Naruto dropped to the floor, twitching from his father's response. "R-Remind me to n-never have you as a guest at my a-apartment." He stuttered, while still in shock from the disaster the kitchen was in.

His father reminded him of himself a couple years ago, but ten times worse.

"Here, I'll clean them while you dry and put them away."

"O-Okay." Naruto stuttered as he lifted himself off the floor.

The clones managed to organize the living room, to a certain extent, but still had a long ways to go before they finished. Naruto's clones managed to separate the books and pile them into one big pile since they were the easiest to do, while Minato's clone sorted out all the letters.

The next target for Naruto's clones was the paperwork, but they had to have Minato's clone watch over them and tell them which papers belonged to which pile, and because of the sensitive information they held they couldn't read them either.

"It looks like our clones are going to beat us at cleaning the living room, so we better hurry." Minato pointed out as Naruto was almost done putting all of the dishes away. Together they managed to finish cleaning all of the dishes and put them away. Afterwards they joined the clones who were almost finished sorting the mess.

"Naruto, could you tell your clones to bring the sorted paperwork to my office, while we put the books on the shelves?" Minato asked.

"Sure!" Naruto's clones all said in unison.

"Okay thanks." Minato then released the jutsu, causing the Minato clone in his house to disappear. Naruto's clones picked up the stacks of paperwork and marched off to the Hokage's Office.

Naruto and his father started filling the bookshelves, and then went through the letters and photos that weren't sorted yet.

While looking through the photos Naruto spotted one that showed his father and mother standing in front of the Hokage Tower. Minato was wearing his new Haori overtop his ninja outfit, while his mother stood beside him holding his hand. She had vibrant red hair, which his father told him was a trait that the Uzumaki clan had, that went all the way down to her waist. Her hair complimented the woman's purple eyes as she wore a green dress, and had a blue wristband on her left hand, with grey shoes.

"Hey, was this when you first became Hokage?"

Minato looked over at the photo, "Yes that was, your mother was very proud of me, and happy that I managed to achieve my dream of becoming Hokage."

"What was her dream?" Naruto inquired.

Minato laughed a bit before explaining, "Well when I first met your mother, everyone in the academy picked on her because of her hair, and she shouted to everyone in the room that she was going to become Hokage so they would all have to respect her. They all called her Tomato head, and eventually she got fed up with it so she beat anyone up who made her angry. That was when she got a new nickname "The Red Hot Habanero," and everyone stopped picking on her, scared that if they did she would get angry."

"So, she wanted to become Hokage as well, did you two become rivals or something?"

"No no, we didn't become rivals. We became friends eventually, throughout the years we got together and overtime got married. I knew she never really wanted to become Hokage, she just said that to try and make the kids stop bullying her. I believe her real dream was to see me achieve mine and live a happy life alongside me." Minato reminisced about the past, thinking of his wife.

"I wonder what she's like as the Red Hot Habanero..." Naruto trailed off.

Minato's tone became serious as a chill went down his spine, "Trust me son, you wouldn't want to know."

"Uhhhh, sure." He looked at his father's scared demeanour in confusion.

Both ninja finished cleaning the place and looked around at their hard work.

"Well, at least it's not as messy as it was before." Naruto explained as they both looked around.

The place was definitely cleaner but it still needed much cleaning.

"You're right about that, I just wish we had done a better job." His father sighed in defeat as he dropped his head.

"I did suggest getting Hinata or Sakura to help with the place. They are much better at organizing than me, and surprisingly you." Naruto put his arms behind his head and laughed.

"Yeah, but I'm the Hokage and if they saw this place, I don't know what would happen."

"Well for one, they'd be more shocked than me, and second they would eventually decide to help out since I asked for their assistance." The young blonde man started laughing again.

"Don't laugh. Do you know how hard it is being Hokage and managing a house at the same time." Minato complained.

"No, but I will someday Dad, that's when you can tell me 'I told you so.'" Naruto put a hand on his father's shoulder and had the other over his mouth as he tried to stifle his laughter.

"Then I'll be waiting for the day you become Hokage. Anyways how about we go get a bite to eat for all of our hard work?" Minato had a grin on his face.

"Ichiraku's would be nice."

"I knew you'd say that." Naruto's father laughed.

* * *

Sakura was following Sasuke around town, watching him greet himself to the Villagers, odd right? He was also going around gathering any necessities that he needed. She thought that since she lowered her chakra signature and stayed a ways behind the Uchiha he wouldn't notice her. But she was dead wrong.

A figure came out of nowhere and stood right behind her. "What are you doing?" Asked the man.

Sakura looked up to see that it was Sasuke behind her, "Uh, nothing really. Just strolling around town, checking out the stalls and stuff."

Sasuke didn't look convinced, "There are no stalls around here." He looked around the area and it was just houses and apartments.

The medical ninja gulped, "Uh yeah I already checked those out so I thought I'd head home now."

"You're home is in the other direction." Sasuke grew impatient.

"Yeah I thought I'd take a detour, you know.. a scenic route."

"Quit kidding yourself Sakura, we both know why you're here." He said as he pointed his finger at his clone.

"Wait? You knew this whole time?" Sakura looked between his clone and the original.

Sasuke nodded his head, "So why are you following me?"

"Uh.."

 _"think Sakura think."_

"I was following you to make sure you weren't causing trouble, you know until the ANBU are able to take over." Sakura squeaked.

"There's no need for that, they're already here, and have been for awhile now." Sasuke threw a kunai at a shadow in the dark alley behind them.

It landed right beside the head of an ANBU Black Ops member, "See.. There's one right there."

Sakura looked over Sasuke's shoulder where he threw the kunai and saw the ANBU was frozen from the close encounter. "Oh, I see. Well I guess I'll be on my way then."

She was about to leave when Sasuke grasped her arm, "Can you quit following me, it's begun to annoy me. You're still the annoying Sakura I remember all those years ago."

Her blush from him holding her arm quickly faded when he told her she was still annoying. "Have you ever shown any respect to anyone, or are you just stuck in your own little world and think that you're god almighty?!" Sakura yelled in frustration.

"I do believe I'm the closest thing there is to a god, but that's not the point. I told you to stop following me, now go and don't follow me again or I won't be so kind next time." He let her arm go and she ran off.

"Was that really necessary? If you knew where I was you could've just pointed in my direction." The ANBU commented.

"I needed to prove a point, and if I didn't throw the kunai at you, you would've run off in the shadows." Sasuke retorted.

* * *

Minato and Naruto both entered the ramen stand, and were greeted by Mr. Teuchi and Ayame.

"Welco-" Ichiraku stopped as he saw the Hokage enter his shop. "Lord Hokage, I'm surprised to see you here."

"Well, I came here to eat some dinner with my son after a long day of hard work." Minato said as he patted his son's head.

"Is patting my head necessary?" Naruto pouted.

"C'mon cheer up, I'm treating you to some ramen after all the hard work you did." His father said while smiling at him.

"Yeah that's nice and all, but I'm not a kid anymore, I'm a grown man and apparently more orga-" He was stopped as Minato quickly covered his mouth.

Minato laughed nervously, "He means that he's just glad to see his father for once, it's been a while since we've talked, right Naruto."

Naruto couldn't say anything since his mouth was still covered, instead he just glared at his father.

"Aw, it must be nice to finally sit down together." Ayame commented while looking at the two men in front of her.

"Anyways, we'll have two bowls of miso ramen with extra pork." Minato requested, trying to change the subject.

"Coming right up." Mr. Teuchi replied and got to work on making their food.

"So Naruto, do you have anyone in your life yet?" Minato asked.

"What do you mean?" His son had a sideways look.

"I mean, do you have a special someone in your life yet?" Minato lightly punched his son on the arm.

Naruto was caught off guard by the question and stuttered, "N-No, I don't know w-what you're talking about."

"Ahhh, so there is!" Minato grinned as he watched his son blush while stuttering.

"So who is she, tell me everything about her." He was excited to hear about the woman in Naruto's life.

Naruto choked, "I-I don't have anyone in my life yet Dad, can you quit it. It's embarrassing."

"I don't see what's embarrassing about discussing the woman you like."

Naruto sighed in defeat, he knew his Dad all too well, and he wouldn't give up until Naruto spilled every bit of information, "Fine.. There is one girl that I get weird feelings for that I can't quite explain."

"Could you elaborate on these 'weird' feelings you have?" inquired Minato.

Just then Mr. Teuchi came out from the back with their food. "Two bowls of miso ramen with extra pork." He pushed the bowls towards the two blonde men. "It's on the house."

Naruto started eating his food and explained, "I don't know, I get this urge to embrace her and want to tell her that everything is going to be okay, but I restrain myself thinking that it'll ruin our friendship."

"Do you get any other feelings when you think about her?"

"Yeah, whenever I see her I get this warm feeling in my chest, and when I'm near her my heart starts racing, which makes it feel like it's going to explode. I can't explain any of these new feelings. I don't understand them." Naruto confessed as he continued eating his ramen.

Minato couldn't help but smile at his son, "Well if you ask me it sounds like you're in lo-" Just then a voice was heard from behind them, cutting him off.

"Naruto, how are you doing?" Sakura asked as she took a seat beside him.

"Uh, good, how about you Sakura?" Naruto replied.

"I'm fine, I saw you here while I was walking by and thought I'd join you."

Minato leaned closer to his son and whispered to him, "I guess I'll leave you two alone."

Naruto looked at his father with a confused look, "Wait I thought we were talking?"

"Yeah that was the plan, but I've got to get back to work." He grinned at his son.

Before Naruto could reply his father flashed out of sight.

 _"Damn it he teleported. Well I guess I'm stuck with Sakura."_ Naruto mentally sighed at the thought.

"So what brings you here Sakura?" he asked while ordering another bowl of ramen.

"I was walking home when I spotted you and thought I'd chat with you before heading home." Sakura said while watching Sasuke who was across the street.

"Really, it doesn't seem like it." Naruto commented as he followed her gaze.

She looked back at him to try and prove her point, "No I am, so what were you and your Dad talking about earlier?"

"It's nothing really, some nonsense." Naruto replied hoping she wouldn't dwell further.

"Oh really, well what are you doing after you've finished here?" She questioned as her gaze drifted back to Sasuke, who now had a crowd of girls around him.

 _"That little... He thinks he can flirt with those girls and not anger me! Well if that's how it is, two can play at that game. CHA!"_

"Nothing really, I'm most likely going to head home after I'm done eating." Naruto said while playing with his food, thinking about what his Dad tried saying before Sakura came.

"Could I come over for a bit?" The question shocked Naruto as he stopped eating his ramen while he still had noodles in his mouth.

"Why do you ask that? You never want to come to my place to hang out." Naruto countered.

"I don't know, I've had a change of mind and thought I'd give it a try, who knows I might have fun." She stated.

She was watching Sasuke the entire time waiting for him to look in her direction. After he waved goodbye to the girls he looked over at them and was surprised to see her sitting with Naruto. Sakura then grabbed Naruto and pulled him in for a kiss, when their lips crashed Naruto tried pulling away, but it only made Sakura tighten her grip.

 _"What?! Why is she kissing me? I don't like this one bit!"_ Naruto tried desperately to free himself.

Finally she let go and Naruto almost shouted at her, "WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!"

"What you didn't like it? We can try again." She pulled Naruto in again.

"NO! Quit it! I don-" Naruto was cut off as she kissed him again, this time a little more passionately, but he still didn't like it.

Both of them were startled as they heard a voice call out from behind them, followed by a loud gasp.

"Naru-" Hinata came into the shop and froze immediately when she saw Naruto and Sakura kissing. She let out a big gasp and tears started to fill her eyes as she watched her world fall apart.

Naruto was able to free himself from Sakura grasp, and turned to see Hinata standing behind them with tears in her eyes. "Hi-nata" Was all he managed to say.

Hinata turned around and ran out of the shop, and shortly after Naruto ran after her when he recovered from his shock.

"HINATA! WAIT, IT'S NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE!" He shouted after her.

Sakura just sat there and realized what she did and felt horrible. She felt so bad that she didn't even notice Sasuke take a seat beside her.

"So what was that all about?" Sasuke asked with a disappointed look on his face.

"I-I-I d-don't k-know." She stammered.

"You do realize what you just did to the both of them don't you?" Sasuke inquired, the disappointment on his face was replaced with anger.

"Y-Yes, I-I do." Sakura replied as she cried.

"Then you should also know I'm not going to be talking to you until their problem is fixed right? You did just ruin my best friend's world." Sasuke retorted.

Before Sakura could try to explain anything, Sasuke was gone, and she was left in Ichiraku's all alone.

Well not all alone of course but you get what I mean.

"HINATA WAIT PLEASE! LET ME EXPLAIN! IT WASN'T WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE!" Naruto shouted in desperation as he chased the lavender beauty through the streets, not caring about the looks he got from those who were still out at night.

"PLEASSEE HINATA, STOP AND LET ME EXPLAIN!"

Hinata ignored what he was saying. She was too flustered about what she just witnessed to think clearly, all she knew is that her world was shattered in seconds. She continued to outrun Naruto who was trying to catch up. Hinata turned around the corner and saw an alley just up ahead, and hid there with her back against the wall closest to where she came from. She held her breath as she hoped he wouldn't look into the alley.

"HINATA! HINATA PLEASSEEE!" He shouted as he ran by the alley she was in.

Hinata let out a big sigh of relief and slowly slid down onto the ground with her back still against the wall. Tears ran down her face and dripped onto her Lavender hoodie she was wearing. Of all the people who could ruin her world, it had to be Naruto, kissing Sakura who supposedly was her friend. She curled up into a ball and let all of her emotions out. Hinata wanted to run away as far as she could, to escape this world, to escape Naruto. But she knew that she couldn't, she didn't want to face him, just thinking of him kissing Sakura hurt her chest as she clenched onto her arms with both hands. She knew she'd run into both Naruto and Sakura, it was inevitable. All she could do is try to rid herself of her feelings for Naruto, and hope that it would all go back to normal over time.

Naruto was still running around trying to find Hinata, "HINATA! PLEASE LET ME EXPLAIN!" He shouted. He eventually stopped, knowing it was pointless because he lost track of her. She was gone, and he wasn't able to explain the situation. He dropped on his knees as it started to rain and hit the ground with his fist as hard as he could while tears were running down his face, mixing with the rain. Blood trickled down his hand from his punch while he held his head with both hands. His world was all over, gone, he just lost his best friend for good. He couldn't help but cry. Naruto thought of her beautiful smile or her cute laugh whenever he made a joke, seeing it filled him with warmth and joy. But that sight was a sight he'd never see again because Sakura had torn it from him.

 _"Why did she do that! WHY DID SHE KISS ME! I'M OVER HER AND THEN SHE DECIDED TO KISS ME OUT OF THE BLUE! I wasn't a toy to be thrown around like nothing, and then be used like that. What did she even kiss me for!?"_

Naruto fisted his hair in anger, frustration, and sadness as he cried while sitting in the pouring rain.

"WHY!? WHY ME!" he cried out in pain as he lifted his head to the dark sky, then dropped his head in defeat letting his emotions get the better of him. Nobody bothered asking him what was wrong, and felt it should be that way. He didn't want to talk to anyone. His world no longer existed to him. He just cried his heart out, while sitting in the fetal position out in the open as the rain poured down on him not caring if he caught a cold.

* * *

And that wraps up Chapter 3. Now before people start chewing me out for bringing the one and only into the mix, I'd like to point out that I did decide to veer off of the anime to make the story more interesting. So overtime after tying up loose ends explaining things that differ from the anime I hope you will all enjoy the story if not already. Speaking of loose ends, some may be wondering how I have the same outcome as the Uchiha massacre since Minato is alive, I will explain that in due time.

The same goes with Minato even being alive at this point, since he's alive in my story it also means that he wasn't a reanimation in the Ninja war, which they won still, because if they didn't I wouldn't have this story to write now would I. Next Chapter I will explain how Minato survived the Nine-Tails attack on the village. To give a hint on how I will remind you that Kushina, Minato's wife, did beg him to not sacrifice himself, on how he gets out alive with Naruto I'll leave for you guys to guess.

Sasuke is also stronger in my story so he will be a challenge for Naruto. Naruto on the other hand, does not have ALL of the Nine-Tails, otherwise known as Kurama, chakra so he is not as powerful as he was after the war, *cough* I'm talking about Naruto: The Last, which I'd like to point out that my story has started off a year or so before the movie, since I was convinced he possessed all of Kurama's chakra at that time, if not please correct me. Oh right and since Minato was alive during the Ninja war, Naruto didn't die by having Kurama extracted from him I'll also elaborate on that in due time. As to if he will or will not receive the rest of Kurama's power I'll once again leave it to you guys to guess.

For those few people who are Sakura fans, I personally am not but I don't hate her either, DON'T STRANGLE ME. As you see she does feel horrible for what she did, and remember she did it out jealousy and wasn't thinking properly, to be honest her world also might be temporarily destroyed as Sasuke said he won't be talking to her until his best friend's relationship with the girl he unknowingly loves is fixed.

With both Naruto and Hinata's worlds destroyed it'll take time to mend their friendship, if it's mendable at all.

Hope to see you guys next chapter, have fun until then and feel free to review, any info helps me with my story, whether it be criticism, suggestions or a simple comment saying I'm doing a good job. PEACE


	4. The Past (Nine-Tails Attack)

EDIT: Sorry for those of you who had to see repeat in Chapter 1. That was not suppose to happen, I honestly don't know how it went from Chapter 4 being chosen to the first one. My sincerest apologizes to anyone I upset in the process. I was having internet problems since this morning so I couldn't delete the mistake and upload the correct chapter until now. Again I'm sorry for the confusion.

Sorry for taking a while to update the story, but here's the next chapter. Also I've decided that I will be, hopefully, updating each week/weekend with a new chapter. I guess you could say this is an extension of the previous chapter since it also revolves around Minato and Naruto the majority of the chapter. In this chapter, there's more 'awkward' moments.. I think. Also a new side of Sasuke is revealed.

Hope you enjoy it ;)

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or the Naruto Franchise.** **Aslo a forewarning for those who may decide to accuse me of copyright, not that I think anyone would, but I'm just being careful. In this chapter I do take a scene from the anime, but twist in my own way so it fits my story. With that being said, I still DO NOT take ownership of it, Naruto is owned by Kishimoto, NOT me.**

"Talking"

 _"Thoughts"_

* * *

 **Chapter 4: The Past (Nine-Tails Attack)**

* * *

The Hokage's Office was cramped as there were many stacks of paperwork that needed to be approved and filed by the Hokage as Minato was stamping endless amounts of files, and he had no idea where they all came from.

The door opened and Sasuke entered, he was wearing a white shirt that revealed his toned body as it was draped around his torso leaving his chest exposed, and some dark blue sweat pants with a lighter shade of blue cloth wrapped around his waist held in place by a purple rope acting as a belt with his Nodachi sheathed behind him. He walked over to the Hokage's desk and stood at attention as he watched Minato.

"I see you're back from your mission already."

"These C-rank mission you're giving me are too easy and bore me to death." Sasuke retorted as he yawned.

"Well I'm sorry Sasuke but until I feel that I can fully trust you those are the highest ranking missions I can give you." Minato explained as he was stamping papers without looking up.

"So when are the pests relieved of their duty?" Sasuke asked already knowing the answer.

"As I said before, they will keep watch over your movements until I feel it's unnecessary." Minato still didn't look up. "Anyways how's Naruto, I haven't seen or heard of him for a few days, is he okay?"

"He's cooped up in his apartment, he hasn't left it since THE incident that took place at Ichiraku's." Sasuke replied in a nonchalant voice.

This caught Minato's attention as he looked up at Sasuke, "What do you mean THE incident at Ichiraku's?"

"What you haven't heard about it yet? He just lost his bestfriend, the one he cared about most. To him his world is over, he hasn't been seen outside since. I occasionally visit him to check up on him as a friend, but he doesn't want any help, so I stopped."

"Why? What happened at Ichiraku's?" Minato questioned.

"Go ask yourself, it's not really my business to talk about what went on. I just happened to be nearby and witnessed it." Commented the Uchiha.

"I can't right now if you haven't noticed Sasuke." replied Minato.

"Why don't you just have a shadow clone go ask him, you're the Hokage aren't you, it shouldn't be too hard to do." Sasuke countered in an annoyed tone.

"I can see why Naruto is annoyed by you sometimes." Minato said as he stopped working and rested his hands on the desk.

"Well Naruto gets on my nerves just as much as I do to him if not more." Sasuke retorted.

Minato mentally sighed as he knew he wasn't going to get anywhere in this conversation with Sasuke, so he created a shadow clone to take his place.

"Well I'm off to Naruto's, you'll take care of things here okay." He told his clone as he handed the Haori to the copy.

"What would happen if... I don't know, say I hit your clone?" Sasuke smirked.

"Then I'd come back to the office, I wasn't planning on ditching the whole day. I just want to check on Naruto personally, since a certain someone won't tell me what happened."

"Okay, so I can leave now right?" Sasuke asked rhetorically as he walked out of the office before Minato could assign him a new mission.

Minato sighed, _"How is Naruto even friends with him?"_ He thought as he shook his head.

Outside there was some overcast which would continue throughout the day as Minato made his way to his son's apartment while jumping on rooftops. A few minutes later and he reached the door to the apartment and knocked on it. While he waited, Minato heard someone grumbling as they made their way to the door.

"It better not be you Sas-" Naruto was mumbling as he opened the door while rubbing his tired eyes, but stopped as he saw his father standing before him. "D-Dad?!" Naruto stumbled backwards, "What are you doing here?" Naruto looked shocked, but by his words he also seemed worried.

Minato looked at his son who had big bags under his eyes, while his hair was unbelievably messy and stained red from blood as well as one of his hands. His white shirt that had the Uzumaki symbol on the front was stained from what looked like ramen. And his PJ's that he was wearing seemed to have a couple holes along with more food stains. Minato couldn't believe his son looked this bad.

"I came to check on you since I haven't seen you for days." Minato's statement caught Naruto off guard.

"WHAT?! No I'm fine. There's no need to check on me." Naruto tried to sound convincing, but his appearance said otherwise.

"Really? So if I gave your team a mission you'd be totally fine with that?"

 _"Crap, is he onto me? Does he know what happened?"_ Naruto panicked.

"Uh, yeah I'd be fine with that." He said while rubbing the back of his neck again.

"HA! I knew it. You ARE hiding something." Minato accused his son after seeing him do one of his habits whenever he was nervous or hiding something.

"NO NO NO! It's nothing like that, I'm not hiding anything!" Naruto waved his hands in front of him shaking his head with a nervous smile.

"If you don't have anything to hide could I come in and join you for a bit?" At his request Naruto started closing the door, but Minato put his foot in the door keeping it open, then swung it open as he walked into his son's place.

When he entered the hallway that lead to the living room Minato came upon something he didn't expect from his son at this age anymore. The place was a complete wreck. There were ramen cups and chopsticks everywhere with clothes here and there. Minato couldn't tell if they were clean or dirty, but assumed the they were dirty. The sink in the kitchen was overflowing with dishes and when he walked into his son's room the blanket was on the floor, and ninja tools were everywhere waiting for someone to step on them. There was also a considerable amount of dirty clothes all over his room ranging from his bed or closet floor to his bed stand or even the lamp in the corner of his room.

Minato was rarely speechless in his lifetime, but this.. He couldn't even begin to think of what to say. "Wha- How?... When did this happen?!" He looked like he was going to rip his hair out just from the shock.

"It's nothing Dad, now can you please leave." Naruto sounded depressed.

"I'm not leaving until you tell me what the hell happened here?!" Minato said in a stern tone.

Naruto sighed, "It doesn't concern you, now please leave."

"It definitely does concern me, you're a complete mess! This whole place is a complete mess!" Minato shouted.

He glanced down at his son and realized he was on the verge of tears, which made him feel guilty for yelling at him. "Hey, what's wrong? What happened to cause this?" Minato asked in a comforting voice.

Naruto dragged his body to his couch and sat on it not caring if he crushed an empty ramen cup in the process, "It's nothing Dad, please just leave me alone." Naruto replied as tears started to trickle down his face.

"Please just go." He said as he waved his father away.

Minato quickly sat down with his son ready to comfort him, "I'm not leaving, I don't like this you. You're far from okay, I just want to help you." He said in a gentle voice.

"PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DAD JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" Naruto was holding his head in his hands and was shaking uncontrollably as he cried.

"What was it that happened after I left Ichiraku's?" Minato was rubbing his son's back to try and calm him down.

"I-I-It was S-Sakura." Naruto stuttered in response.

"What about Sakura, I thought she was your friend?" Minato queried.

"She k-kissed me."

Minato started to chuckle a little bit when Naruto snarled at him, "IT'S NOT FUNNY!"

"Why is that a bad thing? Didn't you used to like her?"

"USED TO!" Naruto said in an angry tone. "She kissed me out of the blue. Didn't even ask if I wanted to be kissed, and it was so sudden I almost feel as if she did it to use me!"

"Why would she do that?"

"HOW WOULD I KNOW DAD! I WAS THE DAMN VICTIM!" Minato looked into his son's eyes and saw hate in them for the first time.

Naruto looked like he was going to lose it, "I CAN'T STAND HER! I-I WANT TO..." Naruto trailed off as he looked at his father.

He got up and started pacing back and forth hoping it would calm him down, but he still felt rage as he thought about Sakura. He didn't even know where all this hate was coming from.

 _"Could it be Kurama doing this? Is this his hate I feel?"_ Naruto stopped in his tracks and looked at his hands in terror thinking he'd start growing claws, but they never came.

Naruto ran to the mirror and felt his teeth hoping there was no fangs while he checked his eyes. To his luck he had no fangs, and his eyes were still the sapphire blue they were.

While he was looking in the mirror he realized how much of a mess he was. Messy bloodstained hair, crazy dirty clothing, bloodied hand and baggy eyes.

Once he saw his reflection he came back to reality and calmed down. The immense hate he felt seconds ago also vanished.

Both the blonde men sat back down on the couch. "So now that you have control of yourself could you tell me what happened after Sakura kissed you?" Minato inquired while rubbing Naruto's back to keep him calm.

Naruto wiped his tears and started to explain, "Shortly after she kissed me she let go and I yelled at her. She thought I didn't like, which I didn't, and decided to try again as I tried to tell her to stop. Just as she kissed me a second time Hinata came in and was about to call my name, but stopped. When I turned around after I managed to get out Sakura's grasp I saw her eyes fill with tears, I felt so bad that I wanted to tell her that I didn't willing kiss Sakura, but before I could recover and say something she ran off so I chased her. I ran after her for a while before I lost her around a corner, and even though I lost track of Hinata I continued to search for her, but with no luck. In the end I gave in and let all of my emotions out while I sat in the rain defeated."

"You don't understand!" Naruto pleaded, "I would never want to hurt her, she's my bestfriend, I care about her so much. And yet I unwillingly hurt her feelings and crushed our friendship. That friendship meant everything to me, and now it's gone." Naruto confessed as he sighed in defeat.

Minato thought about what he learned from that night and what Naruto said before speaking, "Is this, by any chance the same girl you told me about at the shop?"

Naruto blushed as he replied, "Uh... m-maybe, w-why do you care?"

"Because if you two were that close of friends, I believe she also feels the same way about your friendship... maybe even more."

Minato's last remark confused Naruto. "W-What do you mean?"

"Forget it, what I'm saying is a bond like that cannot be broken that easily no matter how hard someone tries. It takes time for that to happen, and even then it still lingers. If you still want your friendship with her, then I suggest you work on regaining her trust. Just don't push it on her, let it happen naturally and overtime you should become friends again if she's willing to give you a second chance."

Naruto thought about it for a while, "I guess I could try, but I just wish that what happened that night didn't occur."

Minato sighed, "It's too late for that. It's in the past now."

Naruto had a question come to mind when his father said that, "Hey speaking of the past, how did you manage to seal Kurama in both of us?"

"Ah, so you've finally come to question how we're both Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails eh?" Minato smiled.

"Well I'll tell you. It happened 18 years ago on the night Kushina gave birth to you. A masked man separated me from Kushina as I protected you, and took her away to extract the Nine-Tails from her. He succeeded and went on to destroy Konoha, while I brought your mother back to you. I managed to separate the Nine-Tails from the masked man and went back to Village after he ran away. By the time I got back there the Village had sustained serious damage, and Kurama was about to use his Tailed Beast Bomb again. To stop him I used my Flying Raijin Jutsu to get above him and summoned Chief Toad to delay him, then flashed me and the Nine-Tails out of the Village's vicinity to avoid the destruction from the Tailed Beast Bomb." Minato went on.

 **FLASHBACK - Start (18 Years ago)**

Minato had managed to teleport him and the Nine-Tails out of the Village just in time. The bomb went off as Minato grabbed Kushina and Naruto to flash just out of the bomb's range. The aftermath of it was unbelievable, there was a extraordinarily massive crater that spanned across a large area of land that had once been a forest. If that had gone off near the Village, there would've been nothing left of it.

The Nine-Tails growled as Minato was thinking aloud, "I need to put up a barrier immediately." But he knew his chakra was almost depleted so it was risky.

"I can still do it, Minato." Kushina said as she was breathing heavily. Her chakra came out of her body in the form of chains and created a barrier to keep the Nine-Tails from escaping while restraining his movements since they also wrapped around his entire body, including all nine of his tails. Kushina started coughing up blood from using more of her chakra after she's already lost so much from giving birth and having the Fox Demon extracted from her. She had little time left.

"Kushina!" worry was heard in his voice as he watched his wife cough up blood, and Naruto started crying as he woke up.

"But why Kushina?" she could see the fear and worry in his eyes.

"I'm going to bring the Nine-Tails with me as I die. So we can delay the Nine-Tails revival. So I can save all of you with the little chakra I have left. Thank you for everything you've done for me." Kushina told Minato with loving eyes and a smile on her face.

"Kushina. It's because of you I managed to become the Fourth Hokage. You made me a man.. and Naruto's father. And yet!..." Minato looked like he was on the verge of tears.

Kushina gave him a warm smile as she looked at him, "Don't look at me with those eyes Minato. I'm happy that you loved me, and today Naruto was born." She shifted her view to Naruto who stopped crying and was calm.

"If I were to imagine me alive, and our future together, the three of us as a family.. I can't see us having anything but a happy life." Tears started running down Minato's face as she imagined what could've been their future together.

Kushina looked back up at her son, "If I were allowed one regret, it would be that I wasn't able to see Naruto grow up.. How I wish I could've seen that."

"Kushina there's no need for you to die with the Nine-Tails. Please, preserve what little chakra you have left for a reunion with our son."

Kushina looked up at her husband as he wiped his tears, "I'll seal the rest of your chakra inside of Naruto. It'll be apart of an Eight Signed Seal, and then I'll take the Nine-Tails with me, with the one Sealing Jutsu I can use, since I'm not a Jinchuriki. The Reaper Death Seal.."

Kushina's expression became worried, "But the caster who uses that Jutsu!.."

(A/N: The Reaper Death Seal is a seal that the user uses to seal away another's soul, at the cost of their own life.)

"One more thing... I'll only seal half of the Nine-Tails. To seal such immense power is physically impossible. If you seal him away with you, there will be no Jinchuriki when he reemerges, thus creating an upset in the balance of power among the Tailed-Beasts. The Reaper Death Seal will seal half of his chakra with me forever.. As for the other half of the Nine-Tails, I will seal it in Naruto with an Eight Signed Seal!" Kushina gasped when he mentioned sealing half of the demon the inside of Naruto.

"I know what you want to say. But remember what Master Jiraiya said about world upheaval, and the calamities that would follow. Two things were confirmed for me today, one was that the masked man who attack you today is a Harbinger of destruction! And the one who will stop him is this child!" Minato looked down at Naruto who was sound asleep.

"This infant whose godfather is Master Jiraiya, will open up the future as a Jinchuriki. I don't know why, but I'm convinced of it."

Minato put their child down and stood up, "But Minato!" Kushina pleaded.

Lord Third, Hurizen Sarutobi, appeared thirty meters away from them and watched helplessly since the barrier was preventing him from advancing any further.

"He's our son after all, let's put our trust in him." Minato said confidently as he was getting ready to weave the hand signs for the Reaper Death Seal. "When I'm done with the Reaper Death Seal, I'll seal your chakra inside Naruto. When he tries to control the Nine-Tails power as a Jinchuriki, I want you to help him out."

"Our son... He's our son, which is why I don't want to put such a heavy burden on him!" Kushina cried out as she looked at Naruto on the ground in front of her.

"And also, why use the Reaper Death Seal? If it's just so I can meet a grown-up Naruto, even if it's just for a short while, there's no need for you to die!" She cried out in pain as she watched Minato.

"I want you to stay by Naruto as he grows up and protect him. I don't get it! For the balance of power between Beasts? For the Nation and Village's sake? Why must we sacrifice Naruto! Why must you sacrifice yourself for me!" Kushina yelled at her husband, tears filling her eyes, and blood was coming from her mouth as she shouted.

"To forsake one's Nation, and one's Village, is the same as forsaking one's child. Your homeland was destroyed, so you of all people should know... the harsh life that awaits those without a country. Besides, our family is.. Shinobi! And finally, even if I were to live, I'm no match to you. Even though you won't have much time with him, there are some things only you as his mother can tell Naruto. Things I can't. That's a mother's role, and I'm not doing this just for you.."

Minato picked up Naruto and looked at his son, "I'm doing this for Naruto."

"I don't care! Even if there's only a slim chance of you living from sealing the Nine-Tails in you, I want to take that chance for Naruto! So Naruto can have a loving father watch over him as he grows up.. So he can feel loved and live a happy life one day!" Kushina started crying.

"Please Minato don't use that sealing Jutsu! I'm not asking you to seal all of the Nine-Tails inside of you! You can still seal half of him away in Naruto, just don't use the Reaper Death Seal." Her tears were mixing in with the blood around her mouth as she begged Minato.

"I don't want him to feel lonely as he grows up, the Villagers will shun him for being the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails, they will fear him and pretend he doesn't exist. But if you're there by his side along the way, that pain won't go away, but it'll soften it, making it more bearable for him!" She dug her nails into the ground causing them to bleed as she pleaded to her husband.

"Take the risk of using the Eight Signed Seal on yourself! Even if you aren't a Jinchuriki!" Kushina cried.

Minato looked at his wife, seeing her this sad upset him. He didn't like seeing her like this, it made him feel guilty for wanting to fully sacrifice himself for their son.

He put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her as he knelt down in front of her, "Alright.. I won't use the Reaper Death Seal, but even if I use the same one as I'm going to use on Naruto, there's a chance I won't survive."

He watched her head lift up to look at him, there was a gleam in her eyes as she gave him a warm smile, "Thank you Minato."

"Now since I'm going to be performing the Eight Signed Seal on myself, I'm going to need your help. Since you already have your chakra wrapped around the Nine-Tails, I was thinking that if you share a little bit of your chakra with me I should be able to seal half of him in me." Minato's expression was serious as he took her hands into his own.

Kushina nodded her head, "HAI!"

Both Ninja started to concentrate and their chakra became visible as Minato performed the Jutsu in an ritual altar he created, "Eight Signed Seal!"

With the help of Kushina's chakra chains, half of the Nine-Tail's chakra was extracted and sealed inside of Minato who nearly collapsed from the Jutsu.

 _"So much power!"_ He thought as he managed to regained control over himself, but he started sweating and looked like he'd pass out any second.

"Now for the second one." Minato slowly got up and walked over to his son and placed him on an altar that he created.

 ** _"HE PLANS ON SEALING ME AGAIN! AND IN THAT INFANT!"_ The Nine-Tails thought as he watched Minato prepare for the Jutsu.**

Before Minato could perform the second sealing Kushina started coughing up blood again from using too much chakra as she was already low on it.

Minato shouted as he ran to her, "Kushina! Are you alright?"

The Nine-Tails took this chance to try and kill the child as he raised his claws getting ready to crush him. Minato and Kushina both saw his arm swing over to their child and they jumped in the way to stop him. The next moment both Kushina and Minato were standing over their child with a claw in their torsos as blood dripped onto Naruto's belly. Both of them were holding onto the Nine-Tails claw keeping it from touching Naruto.

"I told you this was the father's duty." Minato told his wife.

"Then all the more, since I'm his mother."

Lord Third had two Jonin behind him, who appeared shortly after he arrived. "There's a child! And they shielded him!" He said in a surprised tone.

 _ **"WHY YOU!"**_

Minato performed the Summoning Jutsu and a frog, whose torso and legs were connected by a scroll which was collapsed making it look like a solid spring, appeared.

The frog saw the Nine-Tails and shouted in terror, "THE NINE-TAILS!"

He looked over to Minato, "What? Lord Fourth too! What's the meaning of this?!"

"Gerotora, I'm going to give you the sealing formula's key. Take it immediately to Master Jiraiya and store it away."

"You have my word. I confirm the key is in my possession." And with that the frog disappeared.

Minato looked down at his wife, "I'm going to perform the sealing now. I'll store the rest of your chakra inside of him. It'll be a while before you can see him, so tell him what you want to say."

"Naruto... Don't be picky. Eat lots and grow strong. Make sure you bathe everyday and stay warm. Also don't stay up late. You need lots of sleep. And make friends. You don't need a lot of friends. Just a few... Ones you can really, really trust." Kushina said as she took a deep breath to try and stay calm.

"I wasn't very good at, but keep up with your studies and practice your ninjutsu hard. Remember that everyone has strengths and weaknesses. So don't get too depressed if you can't do something well. Respect your teachers and upperclassmen at the Academy. Oh, and this is important. It's about the Three Prohibitions for a shinobi. Be extra careful about lending and borrowing money. Put your mission wages into your savings account. No alcohol until you're twenty. Too much can ruin your health, so drink in moderation. Another Prohibition is women. I'm a woman, so I don't know too much about this but.."

Kushina stopped for a moment as tears filled her eyes once again before continuing in her gentle caring voice, "All you need to remember is that this world is made up of men and women. So it's only natural to take an interest in girls.."

She smiled as she closed her eyes, "But don't get hooked on bad women. Find someone just like me."

Minato couldn't help but smile as he watched Kushina give their baby son advice as she continued on, "Speaking of the Three Prohibitions, be wary of Jiraiya Sensei, you know. Naruto, from now on, you're going to face lots of pain and hardship."

Kushina started to shake as her feelings were getting the better of her, "Be true to yourself. Have a dream and the confidence to make that dream come true!"

Tears rolled down her face as she tried to continue in between sobs, "There's so much... Oh, so much more I want to pass on to you. I wish I could stay with you longer. I love you.. Minato, I'm sorry I used up all your time."

Minato shook his head, "It's okay."

He looked over Kushina's shoulder, whose back was turned to his, and spoke to his son, " Naruto, my message to you is... I guess it's the same as your nagging mother's."

This time he spoke to Kushina as he smiled, "If I live through this, I will do my best to make sure he does all those things, while giving him all of my love."

Minato closed his eyes and whispered, "Eight Signed Seal."

The Nine-Tails was drawn into the seal put on Naruto's belly causing both Minato and Kushina to collapse to the ground. Since Kushina was now inside of Naruto the barrier she put up with her chakra dissipated allowing Lord Third and the two Jonin with him to run to their aid.

When Hurizen got there Minato was still alive but his pulse was weak, while Kushina didn't have one anymore.

"Get these two to the hospital now! I'll take care of the child." Ordered Hurizen.

"HAI!" The other two men picked up the two laying on the ground put them over their shoulders and started dashing towards the Village Hospital.

The Sarutobi picked up the child and examined the infant sleeping, "So you're Naruto eh." He said before rushing back to the Village.

* * *

The sound of a life support machine could be heard beeping in the room as Minato regained consciousness. He looked over to his right and saw an I.V that connected to his right arm, it was nearly empty. To his left there was a bed side table filled with get well cards and gifts from various people. He looked down at his body and it was covered in bandages, his shirt was taken off, probably so the doctors could wrap gauze around his torso, while his hands were also partially bandaged in gauze. Minato looked around the room and there was a bed for any visitors in the far right corner, and just beside it was a door that led to a bathroom, which most likely contained a shower as well. In front of the bed he was laying in there was a table that had a box television on it. There was also a chair beside he bed.

Shortly after Minato woke up Lord Third entered, "I see you're finally awake Minato." He smiled at him kindly.

"W-Whe-" Was all he managed to say. His throat was dry.

The old man had a drink in his hand and handed it to Minato, who could barely move his arms to take it.

He took a big gulp and cleared his throat before speaking, "Where's Naruto?"

"He's fine, quite a healthy child if you ask me, must be from being an Uzumaki. Right now he's in a separate room and being taken care of by a couple nurses while you were out."

"That's a relief." Minato let out a sigh.

"Well he should be safe, you and Kushina did manage to stop the Nine-Tails and risked your lives to protect the child." Hurizen said reassuringly.

"Wait! The Nine-Tails!" Minato exclaimed as he felt his face and hair then looked down at his stomach where the seal should be.

"It's alright, you're fine too. Everyone was surprised to see that you are still alive after sealing a part of the Nine-Tails in you, considering that the risk was very high. In fact you've been in a coma for 3 weeks."

"What about the Village? How is it?" Minato looked at his predecessor.

"Don't worry, I've retaken the position of Hokage in your absence." The old man said as he walked over to the chair and sat down in it.

"And Kushina? Where's her body?"

"She is in the morgue right now. I told them to hold off on the funeral until you've woke up. The people down there have managed to keep her body intact from decaying."

"When will I will I be able to be discharged from the hospital?" Minato questioned.

"Well to tell the truth, all the doctors thought you'd be in a coma for at least 6 months considering the amount of chakra you used and damage you sustained. But as the weeks went by you started to heal faster. The doctors couldn't explain why, but I assume it's because you're body is slowly adjusting to the Nine-Tails and gaining some of his abilities, such as rapid regeneration." Lord Third smiled.

"As for your son, we're not sure if his body possesses that same trait from the Nine-Tails yet since he wasn't hurt, but his body has adjusted to the Demon quite well and much faster than yours." He continued.

"That still doesn't answer the question." Inquired Minato.

"Well including the factor of your new ability to heal fast, I'd say you'll be out in a few days, but the doctors are the experts so don't take my word for it." Chuckled the Third Hokage.

Minato sighed at this, he didn't like being stuck in a hospital bed, which is why he always did his best to avoid getting hurt, but this time he intentionally sustained serious damage for his child. He wasn't thinking and logic didn't matter, all that mattered was to protect Naruto. He was his father who would and will do anything to protect him.

"I guess I'll eat something then go back to bed."

At the statement Hurizen waved in a nurse, who greeted both with a bow, "Lord Third, Lord Fourth."

She placed a platter of hospital food in front of Minato and then left the room.

Minato looked at the food and didn't look too happy, it was a wrapped tuna sandwich with a glass of milk and crackers. The only thing he really looked forward to was the milk, he was thirsty, but the food didn't look too appealing.

The thought of the food made him remember Kushina and then realized that he'd miss her delicious cooking.

Though it didn't look great, Minato dug in and finished the food quickly and downed the glass.

"Aw man.. Even though it didn't look appealing it was great, that just means I'm starving enough to enjoy it." Minato frowned.

"Well I've never seen you complain about food before." Hurizen sounded surprised.

"That's because I only eat food that Kushina makes, and her cooking is amazing." Minato said in a daze just from imagining his wife's cooking.

 **SKIP FORWARD - Three days later**

Minato was in the bathroom looking in the mirror as he was removing the gauze from his torso, slowly he pulled the tape off and then unravelled it. When it was all off he looked back in the mirror and saw a circular scar around his stomach from the Nine-Tail's claw. Other than that his torso was fine, it was still toned as he ran his fingers across his masculine stomach feeling the scar.

He grabbed his shirt that was on the sink and put it on then went into the closet near the window in the main room and took out his Jounin vest and put it in a bag along with his Haori. Minato then left the room and went to see his son who was in the nursery sleeping.

When he got there he quietly opened the door and looked around for Naruto, who was sleeping in a crib in the far back.

Minato walked over and gently picked the infant up, and looked at the calm baby. He had his mouth open slightly and snored lightly while clutching onto his father's white shirt.

Minato gently held one of the child's hands and used his pinky finger to lock his own with the baby's, "I promise... I'll do my best to protect you." He whispered gently while watching his son sleep in his arms.

 **FLASHBACK - End (Present Day)**

"So you could've died and not been able to be here for me? If Mom didn't convince you, and because of the risks that came with sealing Kurama in you?" Naruto questioned.

"Yes, I was determined to save you and thought it was best to sacrifice myself and assure the sealing of the Nine-Tails rather than take a huge risk and seal him with a different seal, just so I could have a chance to be there for you." Minato explained.

"But I'm glad your mother convinced me to seal him with the Eight Signed Seal in me as well, because of it I was able to watch you grow up and be there for you when you needed it most." Minato smiled at his son.

"Anyways, we need to fix up this place." Minato proclaimed as he looked around the state Naruto's apartment was in.

"That anger of yours was more immense than your usual angry state. I don't completely know what might have caused it or if you even caused it, but in the meantime try to keep your anger under control.

Naruto looked his father in the eyes, "Got it, I'll do my best to keep my anger under control."

Naruto closed his eyes and entered his Mindscape.

* * *

 _"Hear that Kurama you need to try and keep your anger under control."_ Naruto said

 ** _"That statement was directed towards you, but I'll comply."_ Kurama riposted.**

 ** _"And sorry about earlier, I lost it at the mention of your friends name. I knew what she was planning on doing, but didn't bother telling you, thinking you knew as well."_ Kurama apologized.**

The difference between Naruto's Kurama and his father's is the one in Naruto has a lighter shade of orange fur, and he was almost as mean as the other one. But overtime, he took a great liking to Naruto, and eventually cared about his wellbeing genuinely. Even though he was a Demon he still had the ability to surprise Naruto.

 _"Did you just apologize to me? The Great and Mighty Kurama apologized to a human being? This sounds too good to be true."_ Naruto teased Kurama.

 ** _"Shut up you imbecile. If you don't stop it I will take over your body!"_ Threatened Kurama hoping Naruto would buy it.**

 _"Bite me Furball."_ Naruto laughed.

 _"Now that I think about it. I don't know why Hinata was upset about seeing me and Sakura kiss, not saying I liked it, but I still don't see what upset her. And on top of that I don't know why I ran after her to try and explain the situation."_ Naruto thought aloud while rubbing his chin.

 _"I mean it's not like I want to be with her or anything..."_ Naruto thought about that for awhile while Kurama watched him intently hoping he'd get it.

Naruto shook his head, _"No why would I want to be with her? That's weird.. I think. I don't know."_ Kurama facepalmed at this.

 ** _"I see you're still an idiot. Guess some people stay the same as they age."_ Kurama chuckled.**

 _"HEY! what's that suppose to mean!"_ Naruto complained.

 _ **"BAKA! It means you're still an idiot even after you've aged this much."**_

 _"Whatever, I'm out for now."_ Naruto said to Kurama before he left his Mindscape.

 ** _"I wonder if he's ever going to realize it."_ Kurama thought aloud in the dark room.**

* * *

"So I see you went and had a chat with your Demon." Minato said to his son while he sat on the couch with a cup of tea in his hand.

"Wait you had enough time to make tea while I talked to him?" Naruto questioned.

"Yes. You were taking a while to come back so I quickly made some tea while I waited."

"Well I should be on my way now. I spent too much time here. I need to get back to the office and continue with my work." Minato explained while he walked to the front door.

"Oh, and Naruto." Minato stopped at the door and turned around.

"Yeah?"

"Don't stay cooped up in this place. Go fix yourself up.. and maybe this place while you're at it." Minato said with a smile before he turned to leave.

Naruto stood there for a second to process all of what just happened before he ran to the shower.

When Naruto came out of the bathroom he was wearing a black t-shirt, and on the back of it was the Uzumaki symbol in red lining. He wore grey sweatpants with a pair of white socks and left his headband off allowing his gold locks to fall down onto his face. He pushed his bangs to the side so they wouldn't get in his way.

Naruto got to work on cleaning up his apartment starting with his tools as he picked them up and put them away. Next was the empty ramen cups that were laying all over the place.

After he finished throwing all of the cups in the garbage he took his laundry basket and filled it with ALL the laundry and threw it in the washer.

Naruto didn't want to do the dishes but knew he had to. So he reluctantly started the tap and filled the sink with soapy water so he could start cleaning all of the dirty dishes he made during the three days he's been locked in this place.

After the dishes were all cleaned and put away he wiped his brows with his arm and looked around at his hard work. The place was back to normal finally.

He still couldn't believe what he had felt when he got angry, it was unlike anything before. The hate he felt was nothing he was used to, and it came from Kurama. Naruto thought he had already felt the Demon's hatred before.

Naruto pushed those thoughts aside and was reluctant to accept that his friendship with Hinata was back to square one, but he had to. Maybe one day they'd be back to normal where they goofed off and hung out everyday.

Naruto ran to the door, and slammed it shut behind him. He turned around and locked it then jumped off the roof of the building ready to start his day as a foxy grin spread across his face.

He started running down the streets toward his objective. He wanted to try and see Hinata. Ask if she was willing to talk.

When he reached the compound he saw Neji walk past the gates. Naruto dashed over to him.

"NEJI!" he shouted. Neji turned to see Naruto and a look of disgust washed over his face.

"To what do I owe for this visit?"

"Nothing. I just wanted to ask how Hinata is doing, you know aft-" Naruto was cut off by Neji who turned around and started walking off.

"I know very well what happened. And quite frankly I was starting to like you Naruto, but you lost your chance after that incident. Hinata-sama does not wish to speak with you and never will."

Before Naruto could speak as he ran to catch up Neji started again.

"And before you ask if I could give a message forget it. You.. disgust me." Neji looked over his shoulder with disdain in his eyes.

Naruto stopped at Neji's remark dropping his head. He didn't know he started gaining his trust. And to think it was all ruined because of Sakura.

Naruto clenched his fists as he tried to fight back tears.

 _"Why does it hurt this much to know Hinata doesn't want to see me? Why? She's just my bestfriend. Sometimes bestfriends don't want to talk to each other, it's normal. So why does it hurt so much."_ Naruto clutched his chest.

Naruto turned around and sullenly started walking back home. He took one last look at the Hyuuga compound and saw a curtain from one of the windows he glanced at close quickly.

* * *

Sasuke was walking by Ichiraku's when something surprised him.

He saw Naruto sitting in one of the chairs and talking to Mr. Teuchi and Ayame. He had been cooped up in his apartment for a while. When did he finally decide to get out? (A/N: This is still the same day)

Sasuke approached his friend carefully and sat next to him.

"So when did the big baby decide to leave his confines?" Sasuke teased as he elbowed his friend.

"After my father and I had a talk. To be honest it wasn't much and it was kinda awkward." Naruto replied as he slurped on his ramen. He had three empty bowls next to him already.

"Oh. I guess the idiot can be convinced after all." The Uchiha smirked.

"So what brings you here Sasuke?" Naruto looked at him.

"I was taking a stroll in the Village and saw you here to my surprise. So I thought I'd join and see how you're doing."

"Oh, well I'm good now. Went to try and see..." Naruto trailed off as he looked away trying to not tear up.

Sasuke knew who he was going to say, "I think it'll be a while before you are able to see her. Until then figure out what you're going to say and how you'll apologize."

"Apologize?! What did I do. Sakura was the one who should say sorry! She caused all of this." Naruto exclaimed as he snapped the chopsticks in his hands.

"And when did you, Sasuke Uchiha, become soft and caring?"

Sasuke ignored his question and continued.

"I know she did. She's dealing with her fair share of pain right now. But still, even if you didn't cause this mess you could still apologize to Hi-" Sasuke stopped as he saw Sakura spot them and run over.

"Oh boy, here comes trouble." Sasuke sighed as he pointed at her.

Naruto followed the direction where Sasuke was pointing and for a moment he felt like running over to her and pummeling Sakura, but he stayed put and watched with eyes of a hawk as she sat with them.

"So how's everyone doing?" Sakura asked trying to sound joyful, pretending that nothing happened between them.

"I don't know. How bout you ask someone else?" Naruto mumbled under his breath as he scooted away from her.

"Fine. I'm good and saw you two so I decided to join you guys." Sakura put on a fake smile.

"Yeah, that's been happening a lot lately." Naruto said as he glared at the two sitting with him.

"Sakura leave." Sasuke demanded.

"Why?"

"You know exactly why." Sasuke retorted.

"No I came here to-" She stopped mid-sentence as she watched Naruto put his payment on the counter and get up to leave.

"Wait! C'mon Naruto give me a chance to explain." Sakura pleaded as she turned around on her seat.

"Did you give me a chance to explain I didn't want you to kiss me!" He growled.

Sakura dropped her head as guilt washed over her face.

"No." She nearly whispered.

"Then I'll be going."

Before she could plead some more Naruto was gone in a flash.

"I guess I'll be off then too." Sasuke got up to leave but Sakura grabbed his arm.

"Please wait. Let me explain what happened."

Sasuke ripped his arm from her grasp, "If I wanted an explanation on what happened I would've asked."

Before he vanished he stopped outside the stand, "Maybe if you controlled your jealousy this would've never happened." He said without turning to look at her.

"H-How?" Was all she managed to get out before Sasuke disappeared.

 _"How did he know?"_ She just sat there again in shock with guilt written all over face.

* * *

 _"Phew.. If I stayed there any longer I would've lost it."_ Naruto thought as he wiped sweat from his forehead.

 ** _"Well you are used to being upset, so you should have a higher tolerance than most people."_ Kurama said in a matter-of-fact tone.**

 _"Yes, but still, I've never been this angry or upset before."_ Naruto countered.

 ** _"If you want to know the truth, it's mainly me."_ Kurama confessed.**

 _"Wait? What do you mean it was mainly you?"_

 _ **"The majority of the anger you're feeling is from me. Everytime I see your 'friend' some of my anger seeps into you. It's more than the usual that you feel, which is why it feels so powerful and uncontrollable. I truly despise your friend Sakura, more than ever."**_

Naruto reached his home after jumping across the rooftops and stopped in front of his door, _"Wait? That was where all that anger was coming from this time as well?"_

 _ **"Yes. Luckily this time I managed to keep calm for as long as possible. Though that's very hard since I've accumulated so much hate over my lifetime towards humans."**_

 _"Why do you hate humans so much anyways? I'm not bad am I?" Naruto opened his door to the apartment and walked in._

 **Kurama chuckled, _"No."_**

 ** _"You're the only exception so far."_ Kurama lied through his laughter.**

 _"Well how come you hate humans so much?"_ Naruto asked as he collapsed on his bed.

 _ **"Because humans are evil creatures. The only thing they truly want deep down is power. Take your friend Sasuke for example. He left you and the Village in the dust so he could go in search of power. It was the only thing that he cared for, he broke all his bonds to achieve it. If you ask me I still don't trust him. He is.. off to say the least."**_

 _"Oh c'mon he's back now. We're friends again and he hasn't done anything suspicious."_

 ** _"Yet."_ Kurama added.**

 _"Why do you always have to be skeptical? He said he gained power and now decided to protect the Village after learning about the truth behind Itachi."_

 _ **"That may be valid and believable, but it's still suspicious because of the sudden change of heart Naruto. I'll decide when I believe I can trust that man."**_

Naruto mentally sighed, _"Fine believe what you want, but don't involve me unless it's actually suspicious and not just you trying to make me doubt him."_

With that Naruto passed out in his bed and had I wouldn't say wonderful dreams, but dreams to say the least as he tossed and turned.

* * *

For those of you who don't know Kurama, he is one of nine tailed beasts created from the Ten-Tails that the Sage of Six Paths defeated. Over his years of living he's seen the desires and wishes of mankind and began to hate them since they sought to control him and thus his power. They didn't just go for him though, they went after the other tailed beasts one by one, capturing and sealing them inside of 'vessels.' When he was sealed inside of Naruto his objective was to break the seal, which would take many many years to do. But overtime he stopped hating Naruto for being his Jinchuriki and started to like him, (and in my story he's begun to like him well enough, that he wants what's best for Naruto). So he became angry when Sakura ripped Naruto's potential chance of getting together with Hinata.

Speaking of Kurama, I decided to add him into the story through Naruto as you saw, I've done this in hopes of making the story more interesting and dynamic.

Some people might also being wondering about other things that are still unclarified. I will get around to those in time, just be patient. In a few chapters I will explain what happened to the Uchiha clan and how the outcome was the same since Minato is alive.

I used a scene from the anime and switched it up, cutting some parts out, adding new bits in and sometimes changing the dialogue where I felt it was necessary. With that said I still **DON'T** own that scene, end of conversation.

And just putting this out there. While I was writing the flashback I had to re-watch a few episodes and I honestly was on the verge of tears as I was watching.

 **AGAIN I DON'T OWN NARUTO OR THE SCENE I USED.**

Anyways hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, as always fav, follow, or review if you'd like. It's always appreciated. Until next time, PEACE!


	5. Lost in Thoughts all Alone

Now before I begin. I'd like to say that I'm sorry for updating the story almost a week behind my desired schedule but my sister left the damn laptop open all night thinking it was okay. It was not okay I couldn't save my work because my internet went down again and it died making me lost half of the darn chapter. The thing is that the first part of the chapter is not the exact same as I wanted it when I had them ideas come to me, but I did my best to rewrite it all with changes here and there (OBVIOUSLY, it's my memory. It's not perfect, especially for ideas like these. Which is why I write them down when I get said ideas). Oh but it didn't stop there, 2 days later after I finished rewriting the section I lost and then some, my little brother went on the laptop and closed the page, thus deleting the newly unsaved progress I made and to top it off I wasn't able to use the damn laptop because he thought he could play games on it. Again when I was able to get my hands on the laptop I rewrote the new scene I had as best as I could, with some changes here and there with added parts and detail to make it more interesting.

There is a big mix of things going on in the chapter, and I guess when I say that I mean that I've added some new interesting ways of portraying the story and added a couple new elements into the mix in hopes of making the story more interesting for you readers. Anyone should be able to tell what to expect due to the title. And I also decided to make this chapter a little longer to make up for my late update with it being just above ten thousand words. Anyways I've finally finished the chapter and hope you enjoy.

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or the Naruto Franchise.**

"Talking"

 _"_ Thoughts _"_

* * *

 **Chapter 5: Lost in Thoughts all Alone**

* * *

Hinata pulled the sheets over her head, but to no avail as the sun was still bothering her sleep. So she closed her eyes tight to further block the sunlight. Just as she started dozing off a horrific thought came to mind. It was the incident that took place at Ichiraku's that wretched night.

All Hinata saw in her mind was Naruto kissing Sakura in front of her. She imagined Naruto turning to her and telling her, _"_ _I never wanted to be with you, and I never will. You're not good enough for me. You're too weak for me to want to be with you."_

Hinata couldn't help it. It was her own mind telling her she was weak and Naruto wouldn't want to be with her because of how pathetic she is, her father and the clan has made her feel that way. She believed what her thoughts were telling her. She laid in her big bed silently crying as tears ran down her face at the thought of the night.

While thinking of the moment she witnessed the two kissing her chest stung immensely as she thought of how Sakura had always supported her in trying to confess to Naruto. _"Was she deceiving me the whole time? Did she really encourage me all this time just to turn her back on me and break my heart by doing the unspeakable? Did she really care so little about me? Was our friendship all a lie?"_

What hurt most is that all of the things Naruto said to her which always calmed her mind were all empty words. He meant nothing behind them, just words to lead her on and make her fall in love with him. All the sweet and caring things he said her were all lies. Hollow words. He didn't truly mean it, and it became clear when he chose Sakura over her. Hinata felt broken. Like their was nothing left of her, like some part of her was torn out that night.

She didn't think she was good enough for Naruto. She felt that way while she was friends with him, but after her world was shattered Hinata felt that she had no chance of ever becoming worthy. It tortured her mind, not being able to see his big heartwarming grin he always gave her anymore. She loved his smile. She loved his personality, his speech pattern whenever he was excited. How he would always rub the back of his neck whenever he was nervous. Or his voice whenever he was concerned. She would never see or hear any of that anymore. Hinata's thoughts were torturing her. On one hand she wanted to be happy for him, but on the other it hurt to know that she wasn't his first choice. She thought that he would, because of how close they are to each other in terms of their friendship.

There was nothing she could do but cry, it was the only thing she's been doing since. This day already seemed like it would be no different.

It wasn't until she cried her eyes out that she reluctantly got out of her bed and went to her bathroom to clean herself up. Her bedroom was quite large, but then again she is the heir of the strongest clan in the Village so they have a huge compound and it was only fitting for an heiress to have a large room. Her walls were a purple with gold trimmings, and her bed was no different in size or colour. It was a large bed with lavender sheets covering it accompanied by more white pillows than a single person would need with four pillars; one at each corner of the bed that nearly reached the high ceiling. She had an enormous window that looked out into the front of the compound. Later she came out with a towel wrapped around her with her hair still damp. Hinata heard someone yell outside so she walked over to the curtain and opened it slightly to see who it was.

To her surprise it was Naruto who called out to Neji who just left the compound. She could see him run over to Neji as the man waited impatiently for Naruto to speak. Neji didn't look too happy to see him. Hinata strained her ears to try and listen in on the conversation. As Naruto spoke, she swore he mentioned her name and her face turned pink. But at the mention of her name Neji turned around and starting walking away. Naruto being Naruto didn't stop and ran after Neji, but while he was running he stopped in his tracks like a deer caught in headlights from something Neji said to him while walking away.

She saw his head drop to the floor and he looked broke. It hurt to see him like this as he sadly turned around and started walking back where he came from, before he completely left he took one last look at the compound and his eyes were about to reach Hinata's window when she quickly closed her curtain hoping he didn't see her like this. Her face was clearly red from thought of Naruto seeing her in just a towel.

She was turned around with her back to the curtain and slide down to floor, knees in front of her. Tears filled her eyes as she was disappointed in herself for still having feelings for Naruto. Hinata wanted to stop thinking of Naruto the way she did right now. Her chest was beating uncontrollably and her stomach had butterflies in it as her face felt like it was on fire from embarrassment.

Hinata just sat there on the floor as she cried. She couldn't help it. Slowly she got up to change and then went back into her bed and stayed there for the rest of the day, too depressed to do anything.

The next morning Hinata got up and did her usual routine of taking a shower, washing her face, applying a lotion, etc. She then went into her walk-in closet and picked out a cute yellow skirt to wear with a lavender blouse and black sandals. Simple but cute. When she was done dressing herself her stomach growled, and the thought of fresh cinnamon buns sounded really good.

Hinata left the compound with no time to waste as she hastily walked in the direction of her favourite bakery. She loved sweets, and cinnamon buns were her absolute favourite of them all. It would not only curb her hunger, but the thought of them distracted her mind from Naruto and her feelings for him. But her joy was short-lived as she ran into someone when she was turning a corner.

The man she bumped into grumbled as they both fell backwards. She hit the ground and was busy dusting her dress off when the man held a hand out to her, to which she looked up to see who it was. It was none other than Naruto Uzumaki.

She stumbled backwards as she tried getting up while backing away from him. He was the last person she wanted to see right now. It was when her back hit a fence stopping her where she felt like it was the end.

"H-Hinata? What's wrong? Why are you avoiding me?" Naruto asked with a sad tone as he moved towards her.

"N-N-Naruto-kun!" Hinata stuttered as she adverted her gaze. Her body was shaking and her face was on fire from how close he was to her.

"Hinata, talk to me. Why are you avoiding me? I just want to talk." He moved a little closer wanting to reach out to her.

Hinata's heart felt like it was going to explode from how fast it was beating, and her anxiety shot through the roof. It was too much for her to handle anymore.

Her eyes closed and body went limp as she promptly fainted from the close proximity to Naruto.

Naruto was shocked to see her faint in his presence, but still caught her before her body hit the ground. He stood there with Hinata in his arms looking at the beautiful girl from head to toe. She was stunning, and oh so adorable. It made his heartbeat speed up and a warm feeling appear in his chest. He was mesmerized by her looks.

Naruto snapped out of his thoughts and picked her up bridal style and was thinking of where to let her rest. He could bring her to his house and wait until she woke up or he could bring her back to the compound and explain what happened.

But what shocked him the most was her fainting on him. She hadn't done that in almost two years since they became real friends, and here she did again like they were strangers. He never knew why she would always faint in his presence. He pushed those memories aside and made his decision.

He started running back to the Hyuuga compound with her. As much as he wanted to bring her to his house to rest, he knew that was a bad idea since she fainted on him. It only meant that she'd do it again when she woke up in his apartment.

Once he reached the compound he was greeted by a not so happy Neji who stomped over to him.

"What are you doing with Hinata-sama!" Neji shouted.

"Uh, hey look. Let me explain what happened before you jump to conclusions Neji." Naruto said nervously as he nearly fell backwards as the Hyuuga made his way to him.

"I will not listen to an imbecile's reasoning. And I will not allow you hold Hinata-sama like that." Neji replied as he nearly ripped Hinata from Naruto's arms.

"Look I didn't mean for this to happen. We ran int-"

"I don't care what happened. All you need to know is that I don't want you to be near Hinata-sama EVER AGAIN! Or so help me god that if I find you ANYWHERE near her I'll break you UZUMAKI." Neji barked.

As much as Neji terrified Naruto, he was fed up with being treated like this. "YOU THINK I MEANT FOR THIS TO HAPPEN! WE RAN INTO EACH OTHER IN THE STREETS AND SHE FREAKING FAINTED ON ME! I WASN'T JUST GOING TO LET HER LAY THERE SO I CAUGHT HER AND BROUGHT HER BACK! YOU SHOULD BE HAPPY YOU UNGRATEFUL BASTARD!" Naruto shouted at the top of his lungs.

Neji glared at him before speaking, "I am not happy. She wouldn't be in this state if you didn't run into her in the first place."

"Oh so now I'm the bad guy for accidently running into your cousin and making her faint. I see how it is. Next time something happens like this don't expect me to be so kind." Naruto was furious and turned around and stormed out of the compound.

He slammed the gates behind him and left in a very sour mood.

 _"That little-! He thinks I did this on purpose! Oh boy I want to teach him a lesson. The only thing that's keeping me from doing so is that he's related to Hinata. If he weren't I'd give him a good lickin that he'd never speak to me in that tone ever again. GRRR! I want to crush him so bad!"_

Naruto needed to cool off and knew exactly where to do so. So he started for the main gate of the Village.

Along the way while Naruto was in deep thought he didn't even notice that he bumped into his father, "Naruto?"

He just ignored his father's call, not knowing it was him.

Minato hadn't seen his son this angry for quite some time, apart from the burst of anger at his apartment. So he decided to tail him from a distance and see what he was up to.

Naruto finally stopped after he was deep inside of the forest surrounding Konoha. He quickly looked around in frustration to see if anyone followed him. Once he decided it was clear he let all of his anger out.

He started punching the trees around him, shattering them with the force. His knuckles started bleeding so he started using his Rasengan on them. Wood chips were flying everywhere as he decimated the surrounding area. He eventually produced two clones and created the Wind-Style: RasenShurikin and threw it in the distance letting it go off as it created a loud explosion, to which the Jutsu expanded into a big sphere that engulfed the area around it. All that remained from the blast was a large crater.

Naruto shot off a couple more before he dropped his head. _"I can't even see Hinata now. She... she.. meant everything to me. And now that I have seen her she's fainted as if we were still strangers."_

That was when the thought of Neji's words entered his mind and he became angry again. This time he entered Nine-Tails Chakra Mode combined with his Sage mode. He was engulfed by yellow flames with embers emanating off him. His body also glowed yellow, save his skin which glowed brighter than the normal colour it was. And along with the yellow his attire became there was also a number of black lines and symbols that riddled his body, again save his skin. He also produced a Haori that was similar to his father's but was glowing yellow and black with six black symbols, all identical, that wrapped around the collar of the cloak. (A/N: I don't exactly know what to call them, but basically they're six single apostrophes). And his eyes were glowing yellow with their horizontal bar pupils from Sage mode, but what differed from his normal Sage mode was that his eyes were not only rectangular, but a part of them were slits like they would be if he was in Nine-Tails state.

Naruto held his hand up to his face and created what would appear to be a Rasengan. It was spherical just like the Rasengan but instead of it's normal blue hue, it was black, and only a fraction of the size. He threw it like he would a RasenShurikin far off in the distance and it went off. The explosion was 6 times the size of the explosions created by the RasenShurikins and could be seen for miles and shook the ground to the very core. To his luck he was far from the Village so no one witnessed it.

Finally Naruto deactivated his Chakra Mode and fell to his knees. Tears trickled down his face and he dug his nails into the soil, causing them to bleed. _"Why? Why did my friendship with Hinata have to be destroyed over something so stupid. If anything Sakura used me, and to my luck Hinata walked in right as she was. Now she won't tell me why she's avoiding me and will barely leave the compound. After today she's definitely not going to leave it, and it'll be like that for a while. And even when she does, when I try to confront her again, it's not Neji what I'm worried about. It's Hinata, she'll probably won't utter a word and faint again like she did today. Why do I have to have my life ruined!"_ Naruto hit the ground multiple times with his right fist and continued to even after it started to hurt beyond any human could endure. But all of that physical pain was pale in comparison to the emotional pain he was in. He stopped and just sat there on his knees with his head to the ground crying his heart out once again.

Unbeknownst to him Minato was watching his son in the distance with concern stained on his face. He shook his head in despair as he watched his son crumble under all the emotions he was feeling. He could understand that the only way for him to exert some of that depression was through anger, which he took out on the forest, but he'd never seen his son this depressed before. Minato wanted to go over to him and reassure him that everything will turn out fine. As much as he wanted to he didn't, he knew leaving him be was for the best.

So Minato turned around to leave and looked over his shoulder one last time.

 _"Naruto you must be going through a lot of pain right now. My only wish is that you hold in there. You're always strong and never give in easily, so just do your best to endure what you're going through. I know it's unfair that this whole mess was the result of a certain someone's jealousy, but that doesn't matter now. What's done is done. It will eventually go back to normal, whether you two become friends again... or something more if you figure out your feelings. Until then don't give up. It's all up to you because, by now knowing Hinata, she's already given in and trying to forget her feelings. She's a strong Shinobi who wholeheartedly cares for your wellbeing and wants nothing more than to be with you, at your side, but her courage is broken easily due to her past.. You of all people should know this by now... It still amazes me how you are oblivious to all the admirers you have, especially Hinata. She has shown her love to you time and time again hoping you'd accept her, but you didn't realize it. She knew this which is why she never got upset about it. But how dense you are when it comes to love is astonishing. I'm rooting for you to regain her trust Naruto, you both deserve each other and I'll help in whatever way I can, even if it means I have to give you a little push in the right direction."_

With that Minato disappeared and Naruto shot his head around thinking he heard someone say his name, but it was just his imagination. So he went back to his dejected state and stayed there for what felt like an eternity.

* * *

Back at the compound Hinata woke up to see her herself in her room again. She was bewildered to it all. That's when he memories came flooding back to her.

 _"OH GOD! I ran into Naruto, and fainted on him. I didn't mean to but it was all too much. He kept questioning me, moving closer each step until our faces were mere inches apart. My heart was out of control and my face was probably an unbelievably dark shade of red. And my anxiety skyrocketed from the proximity to Naruto. I couldn't take it and fainted. Last I remember was him catching me as my eyes closed."_ Hinata thought in her mind.

 _"Wait I was on my way to the bakery! Then I fainted on him. And..."_ Her face became red as she thought of something really embarrassing.

 _"D-Did Naruto-kun bring me to my room?! No, he wouldn't do that would he? I don't think he's that stupid right? But who brought me here then?"_ As if he read her thoughts Neji knocked on the door and came in.

"Glad you're awake Hinata-sama." Neji said with a smile.

"How did I get here? I was headed to the bakery and now I'm back here." She inquired.

"Well, uh. About that, Naruto came back with you in his arms and when I saw him holding you. Knowing you didn't want to confront him I was well.. Let's just say he ended up leaving the compound in less merry mood." Neji explained nervously.

"Why? He looked fine when I ran into him. What happened?"

Neji knew her feelings for Naruto and full well knew he was going to be chewed out for this but here goes nothing right? "Well.. You see when I saw him carrying you I was furious because I knew you didn't want to see him for a while so I yelled at him and didn't listen to his reasoning. We ended up getting into a scuffle and he finally left in a sour mood."

"NII-SAN! How could you treat Naruto-kun like that! He only did what he thought was right!" Hinata scolded.

"I know. But I couldn't think straight knowing the current situati-"

"That's no excuse! I don't care if I don't want to confront him at the moment but you still shouldn't treat him like that, especially after he brought me back to the compound unharmed!" Hinata cut in folding her arms in disappointment to Neji.

"Sorry Hinata-sama. It won't happen again." Neji apologized before he bowed and left.

Deep down a part of Hinata wished Naruto brought her to his apartment, but a larger part of her didn't knowing it would cause conflict.

 _"It.. was nice of him to bring me back, but then again that's Naruto, he's kind and thoughtful."_ The thought made her blush a bright pink.

 _"No! Quit it Hinata! He's.. he's with Sakura now. Doing so will only cause trouble down the line. It's better to forget these feelings as soon as possible so everything may go back to normal."_ Tears started to swell up in her eyes. She didn't want to forget her feelings for Naruto, but she felt she had to for his sake so she wouldn't get in the way.

Hinata got up from her bed and went to take a shower since she was dirty again from being on the ground when she ran into Naruto. When she came out and dressed up, she decided to get a guard to retrieve the sweets for her, because she didn't want to run into HIM again. She gave the guard the change, and the directions to the bakery as well as which ones to buy. After that the guard made his leave and Hinata was left to her thoughts again.

 _"I want to be with him, but... He's now in a-"_ Hinata choked a bit before continuing, _"a relationship. No I can't be with him. It just wasn't meant to be I guess."_ A tear rolled down her face as she came to her conclusion.

 _"Maybe he wou- No he wouldn't do such a thing, it's not in his nature. Or how bout- No that won't work either. I could try an- No I couldn't do it."_

Hinata sat on her bed for a while with her conflicted thoughts when she heard a knock on the door and the guard could be heard. She got up and ran to the door and when she opened it she saw the guard she had sent, back with a fresh batch of cinnamon buns. It smelled so good to her. Hinata took the box from the man and quickly embraced the guard, who didn't expect such actions, as a thanks then closed the door.

Hinata walked back to her bed and sat down with the buns in her lap as she opened it allowing the sweet delicious aroma of the them to escape and spread across her room. She loved the smell of cinnamon buns, almost as much as Naruto's. It was her second favourite thing besides her one and only. Her eyes were glistening from the sight of them. Hinata picked one the buns up, took a bite out of it and was sent to culinary heaven from how deliciously sweet it was. She savoured every single bite as she ate all of them. When she ate the last one Hinata licked the frosting off of her fingers, not wanting to waste any of it and then went to wash her face and hands after throwing the box in the garbage.

The cinnamon buns helped ease her mind as she wasn't thinking of Naruto. Instead she was laying in her bed enjoying the aroma that her room was in. It was intoxicating to her, making her mood change from the depressed state she's been in for the past four days to a jovial one where she just laid in her bed enjoying the moment. Hinata's sheets were starting to gain the scent of the buns causing her to pull them to her face so she could inhale it.

* * *

Naruto got up from the ground and wiped away his tears causing the blood on his hand to smear his face, but Naruto could care less. All he wanted to do now was go home and sleep all his sorrow away after cleaning himself up. He started jumping from tree branch to tree branch making his way to the Village. When Naruto got there he took a secret detour to avoid any looks he would get since he was a mess. After the long detour he took, he finally reached his home and immediately went to take a shower.

Naruto walked out of the bathroom in one of his bathrobes and wasted no time on going to sleep. He walked over to his bed and collapsed on it letting his mind wander freely until he passed out.

In his sleep he was dreaming of Hinata and himself.

 _"So Naruto-kun.. What do you want to do today?" Hinata asked him curiously as Naruto was in deep thought._

 _"I don't know. Maybe we could go explore the forest again? It's been a while since we've done that together." Naruto suggested._

 _"Sure! You lead the way." Hinata smiled brightly at the idea. She didn't care what they did as long as she was with Naruto. The only thing she wanted was to see him happy._

 _"Great let's go now!" Naruto nearly shouted in excitement as he grabbed Hinata's hand and dragged her out of his apartment. He then started jumping across the rooftops towards the edge of the forest with Hinata hot on his heels._

 _When they reached the forest the two ninja stopped to take in the mermories it held for them. But the reminiscing was short-lived as Naruto took Hinata's hand and nearly dragged her into the forest. It was too much for him, he couldn't wait to relive the memories they had the first time round. Shortly after, he let go of Hinata's hand and then they started their long journey._

 _Along the trip they encountered the wild life that lived within the forest and certain spots of the forest where memories that were held dear to them happened. One of which was when they were chasing each other across the forest and Naruto fell from one of the branches and cut himself. Luckily Hinata had her first-aid kit with her and bandaged his wound which as futile as it was, because of the Nine-Tails regenerative powers, meant a lot to the both of them._

 _After a while the two ninja decided to take a quick break as they came upon a creek in the forest._

 _"So... How are you enjoying the walk down memory lane so far?" Naruto couldn't help but ask with a smile on his face. He was busy filling his canteen with water and refreshing himself._

 _"I love it. This trip has brought back so many memories from the first time we did this. I couldn't be more happy." Hinata smiled joyfully._

 _"That's good. I'm glad you're enjoying it so far."_

 _Hinata was unconsciously watching Naruto drink his water when a certain memory came back to her. One she enjoyed very much. With it she quietly walked up to Naruto and got ready to do the deed._

 _"Hey Hina-" Naruto was cut off as he was shoved into the creek. When he emerged from it all he could hear was Hinata giggling uncontrollably._

 _"HEY! What was that for?!" Naruto whined._

 _"That was payback for when you did it to me." Hinata explained while trying to stifle her laughter._

 _"What did I do to you to deserve this?" Naruto pouted._

 _"Oh silly! You pushed me in last time. Quit pouting, or I'll have to push you in again when you get out." Hinata teased playfully._

 _"I-I don't remember doing that. You're lying, I'd never push you into a creek. Not on my life." Naruto tried to sound convincing but a grin crept onto his face._

 _"Oh yeah, is that so? So you don't remember me pouting the exact same way you are right now?" Hinata teased some more._

 _"Nope. Not one bit." Naruto crossed his arms and continued to pout._

 _"You sure about that? Because I remember being pushed int-" Hinata was too busy remembering when Naruto pushed her into the creek to notice Naruto coming towards her and grabbing her legs._

 _Hinata screamed as Naruto dragged her into the creek slowly._

 _"No No No! Naruto you don't have to do this! I don't want to get soaked! We can work something out. I could buy you dinner after we're done our trip. You could have your favourite ramen from Ichiraku's on me!" Hinata begged Naruto and she dug her nails into the soil trying to stop him from dragging her, but to no avail._

 _Naruto stopped dragging her for a moment contemplating on whether or not he should take her up on her offer. But he made his decision, "Hmmm, I would take that offer but this is much more entertaining and totally worth it."_

 _Hinata's face filled with fear from his response, "No! Naruto don't do this to me. I'll give you a better offer. You can eat as much ramen as you want when we go to Ichiraku's and I'll pay for it all, just as long as you don't drag me into the creek." Hinata pleaded some more._

 _Naruto grinned, "Too late." He said as Hinata fell into the creek. When she emerged from the water her clothes stuck to her body, outlining her hour-glass figure. Her damp lavender hair also stuck to her body as her soft silky skin glistened from the water. Naruto took notice of this and couldn't help but unconsciously stare at her gorgeous figure. He was snapped out of thought when Hinata started complaining._

 _"HEY! That's not fair! I got pushed into the creek last time, so I only found it fitting if you were this time!" Hinata pouted as she put her hands on her hips._

 _Naruto had no response to this so as silly as it seemed he started to copy Hinata's pouting. He put his hands on his hips and had his trademark grin on his face. All of this was done to annoy Hinata further and did not fail to succeed._

 _"Stop it! You're being a child by copying me! Just quit it." Hinata folded her arms across her chest, and Naruto did the same thing with the grin still on his face._

 _"Oh yeah, and you're being a child by pouting for such things." Naruto chuckled lightly. This irritated Hinata even further._

 _"Well, I think I have the right to complain in this situation since I've not only been pushed into the creek the first time, but now dragged into it the second time." Hinata continued to pout as Naruto still continued to mirror her movements._

 _"Yeah? Just think of what you did to me this time as payback for last time. That just means you'll get another shot at revenge next time if we ever come out here again." Naruto countered._

 _Hinata couldn't stay mad at Naruto for long. She found his childish attitude and antics very amusing and started giggling. This was something Naruto couldn't copy but he did start laughing too._

 _After Hinata regained some of her composure she splashed some water at Naruto who was shocked from being splashed at._

 _"That was interest from the first time you pushed me in." Hinata laughed._

 _Naruto didn't seem happy at first but a smile quickly crossed his face as he started splashing water back at her. Soon afterwards a war broke out between the two to see who could soak the other more._

 _After lots of water being thrown around, and tons of heartfelt laughter, the two ninja both got out of the creek to dry off before heading back home._

 _Naruto got up from the ground and unzipped his jacket. His damp shirt clung to his toned body and left little imagination as Hinata watched him. Little did she know what she was about to see. She got up from the ground and was sitting beside Naruto._

 _Naruto took his jacket off and wrestled his shirt off, then heard a loud gasp from beside him._

 _He turned to see that Hinata's face was a bright red._

 _"What?" was all he had to say._

 _"N-N-N-Naruto-kun! W-What are you d-d-doing?!" Hinata stammered, while in shock from how toned his body was. She knew his body must be very fit due to being a ninja, but being this close to him with his shirt off was almost too much for her. Her eyes traced his toned chest and wanted to touch his masculine figure, but restrained herself as best as she could. Above it all she couldn't hide her embarrassment from it._

 _"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm drying my clothing." Naruto explained innocently, not knowing that Hinata was in awe from his body._

 _"Yes, but couldn't you do that at your apartment, in private?" Hinata couldn't tear her eyes away. She liked what she was seeing, and had this strong urge to let herself flock to his handsome body._

 _"Why would I do that? I'd just get my apartment wet, and it's much easier to do it here." Naruto was still clueless._

 _"Anyways, why is your face so red? Do you have a cold or something?" Naruto asked in a concerned voice._

 _He motioned towards her, in turn she backed away, not wanting to get near him. For if she did, she'd probably go crazy, or worse... faint._

 _"Why are you avoiding me? I just want to check and see if you have a cold from being in the creek for so long." Naruto complained._

 _"N-N-No, I'm fine. I-I don't h-have a cold, I-it's just.." She trailed off not able to continue._

 _"It's just what?" Naruto inquired._

 _Hinata dropped her head in embarrassment and could only point to his bare chest, hoping he'd get the message._

 _Naruto looked at his bare chest and saw nothing wrong with it, "What? What's wrong with my chest?"_

 _"I-It's bare." She said in a meek tone._

 _It took Naruto a while, but he finally got the picture. "Oh! So sorry Hinata."_

 _Naruto quickly put on his still slightly damp shirt and wrung out his jacket as best as he could before putting it on._

 _He rubbed the back of his neck as he held out his hand to Hinata, "Sorry if I embarrassed you Hinata. I didn't mean to."_

 _Hinata took hold of his hand and got up from her spot. "I-It's okay. You didn't know." She replied meekly._

 _"Well now that everything's fine let's head back home." Naruto said as he was about to head off, but was stopped by Hinata who shoved him back into the creek._

 _"That was for continuing to pout when you knew what I was talking about earlier!"_

 _'And for nearly making me lose control of myself, albeit you didn't realize it.' She thought to herself._

 _Naruto got out of the water and started to complain again, "HEY! That was uncalled for and mean!"_

 _"Well maybe you should've listened to me when you pretended to not know what I was saying while you 'pouted.'" Hinata explained with a grin on her face._

 _Naruto genuinely pouted this time, "Well I couldn't help myself. You of all people should know by now that I'm a prankster at heart."_

 _"Well, I can't argue with that. It's one of the things that makes you, you!" Hinata said as she poked her friend's nose._

 _'And one of the reasons I fell for you. You're way too goofy and I love it.' Hinata smiled at the thought._

 _"Anyways we should go now. The sun is setting and we haven't eaten anything yet." Naruto suggested as his stomach grumbled._

 _Hinata laughed, "Anything for you Naruto-kun. I guess we can go to Ichiraku's now?"_

 _"YES!"_

 _With that the two started dashing towards the village from the trees._

 _Along the way Hinata lost her footing and fell from one of the trees as she screamed. Naruto shot his head back and saw Hinata falling. He turned around as fast as he could so he try and catch her, but it was like the universe was slowing him down. He just watched Hinata fall, and below her a dark creepy crevice opened up and was ready to swallow her. Naruto tried shouting to Hinata to grab onto something, anything, but his voice was gone. He held his throat with his other hand outstretched as he tried to catch Hinata, but the closer he got to her the farther she seemed to be. She was right there but he couldn't reach her in time._

 _By the time he reached where she was it was too late. She had already fallen into the fissure. All he could hear was her scream as she fell into the darkness as the crack in the ground started to close on him. He wanted to go after her but the world was stopping him from doing so. When the crevice closed completely Hinata's scream was playing over and over in Naruto's mind tormenting him. He was unable to save her._

 _His emotions got the better of him and he started pounding the ground where the crack used to be hoping it would reopen, but it didn't. He continued to pound the ground as his hands started to bleed. He even started digging up the dirt with his nails to try and find the hole in which Hinata fell through, but with no luck. By the end of his attempt he was in turmoil from what just happened. He had lost Hinata. He failed to keep his word as a friend. Tears started streaming down his face as he curled up in a ball._

 _"This can't be happening. This can't be happening. This can't happening.." He repeated to himself, hoping that in doing so it would bring Hinata back. But nothing worked. She was gone and he was crumbling from his failure to keep his word._

That was when Naruto woke and shot up from his bed sweating bullets.

 _"It was just a dream. A nightmare. Nothing more."_ He thought to himself. He looked at the clock beside his bed and it read 12:04am.

His heart was racing and his entire body was shaking. He didn't know what to think from what happened in his dream.

He.. He lost Hinata. It was the one thing in the world that he didn't want to happen, but it did. The dream seemed so real, so vivid he couldn't tell if it actually happened or not.

Naruto quickly got out of his bed and sat on the floor in a meditative manner and entered Sage mode. Once he entered the mode he searched the Village for Hinata's chakra signature, and to his luck he found it. It made him smile, which quickly faded as he realized that it meant this was reality and they were no longer best friends, like they were in his dream. He frowned at the thought and sluggishly went back to bed, where he tossed and turned for the rest of the night.

* * *

 **SKIP FORWARD - Three days**

It's been a week since the incident that took place at Ichiraku's. Time and time again Sakura would find Naruto and try to explain her side of the story, but Naruto was still angry with her and that feeling wasn't going away anytime soon, so whenever she showed up he'd leave in a poof of smoke each time.

During this time Sakura was also trying to talk to Hinata, knowing if she could, she would listen to her reasoning and understand her, and hopefully forgive her overtime. But luck was not on her side, because every time she went to the compound Neji was there to make her turn back.

She couldn't take it. Both of her friends were avoiding her, and to top it off Sasuke was also avoiding her, it wasn't anything new really, but it still hurt. The love of her life, was avoiding her because she messed up BIG time. And worst of all he wasn't going to talk to her until her friends' problems were fixed. Sakura thought the only way to do that is explain why she acted the way she did and hope they'd understand and forgive her, but it was impossible to do said solution if they were avoiding her at all costs.

Every night she would cry herself to sleep. She felt so so so bad for what she did. Sakura wished she could go back in time and stop herself from kissing Naruto, but it wasn't possible and she has to live with her mistake until it could be resolved, which would be NEVER in her mind.

Sakura was in her apartment on her bed hugging a pillow as she cried silently. If only she was able to control her emotions at the time, none of this would be happening right now. The poor pink haired girl has been distraught since the night she did the 'deed'.

 **FLASHBACK - Start (1 day ago)**

"Hey Naruto can we talk? It won't take long I promise. I just want to tell you something important." Sakura asked while trying to keep up with his fast pace. It was like he was trying to get away from her, and she knew he probably was.

"There's nothing to talk about." Naruto replied blatantly.

"Yes there is! You know there is, so could you could just let me explain?" Sakura pleaded.

"Explain what? The reason you kissed me. The reason you felt it was necessary to do something like that when you knew I no longer had feelings for you. Heck I'm under the impression that you did it to use me." Naruto accused her as he picked up his pace to lose her in the streets.

"Yes.. and yes." She nearly whispered the last part.

Her answer caused Naruto to stop walking causing Sakura to bump into him. He slowly turned around and when she saw his face she felt a shiver go down her spine. He was clearly mad, and he's never had that look when he's mad.

"N-Naruto? Is everything alright?" Sakura asked nervously taking a few steps back.

"Is everything alright?" Naruto repeated in a mocking tone as he took a couple steps forward.

"I don't know Sakura, does it look like everything's alright? I was a complete mess for quite some time, and even after I fixed that I'm still broken. So you tell me... Does it look like everything's alright to you?" Naruto retorted. He was visibly angry and it wasn't his average childish anger. It actually looked like he would kill someone. His eyes had a hint of hate in them while a crooked sinister smile accompanied them. (A/N: His face looks similar to Yamato's creepy face whenever he's trying to scare Naruto).

"No. I know everything isn't alright. That's why I want to talk to you. To try and clear up any confusion and such." She didn't have it in her to say sorry yet, she still was trying to work up enough courage to do so.

"Then tell me Sakura what would you like to talk about? I'm sure my little friend here would love to hear what you have to say, and quite frankly I don't feel obligated to stop him this time." Naruto's smile grew wider as he moved closer, making Sakura move back.

Was this the Naruto she knew and cared for like a brother in a sort of sense? He was way too creepy and sinister, if she didn't know any better she'd think this was an Imposter. Sakura laughed nervously, "Now Naruto, before you do anything rash let's just talk it out. You know, like grown ups. There's no need for anyone to get hurt here."

"Oh, is that so. Did you think about that when it came to me, when you decided to kiss me. If so, what made you think it wouldn't cause any harm? Hmm" Naruto inquired. The sinister smile growing even wider threatening to tear his face in half.

"No I did not think about that when I kissed you. I was angry and flustered. I couldn't think straight. So I guess wh-" Sakura was cut off by Naruto.

"Well then since you didn't think about that I guess I don't have to either." With that Naruto's appearance changed into his former Nine-Tails state before he could control Kurama's power. He had fangs and his nails turned into claws, while his eyes turned red and his pupils became those of a cat. And the air around him became ominous and dark.

When Naruto spoke again his voice was completely different, it was a menacing husky voice that intimidated Sakura, "Tell me this little girl. When have you ever thought things through? When have you ever taken Naruto's feelings into account whenever you did something rash? When did you ever not use him to impress that pesky brat of an Uchiha that just so happens to be his bestfriend? Answer me honestly and I'll make the consequences less severe." Naruto laughed maniacally.

Sakura gulped. She didn't know what happened but this Naruto terrified her. She didn't like it one bit, and it made her regret trying to talk to him in the first place. He looked like he was ready to kill. "Uh... Half the time I think things through. Never and never." Sakura closed her eyes expecting something bad to happen but it never came.

"If you think things through half the time then how come you let it slide when it came to Naruto and your jealousy of Sasuke?" Naruto growled.

"As I said I was angry and flustered. I didn't think things through because I couldn't think straight and only had one thing on my mind."

"Let me guess what that one thing was. It was to make Sasuke jealous of you by kissing his bestfriend while he watched." Naruto had a menacing smirk on his face as he knew he was right. He moved closer to Sakura making her move backwards until she hit a wall in an empty alley.

"Y-Y-Yes." Sakura stuttered as she looked away not wanting to stare into Naruto's evil looking eyes. She found them more intimidating then the Hyuga glare.

As she answered Naruto put one of his hands around her neck and lifted Sakura off her feet. "Then tell me why I shouldn't kill you right now for what you did to him. You full well know what you did to his world. He was so close to getting his chance and you ruined it for him. It would take a miracle for him to get another and miracles don't happen often. I am being more than generous at the moment, because you are still alive... for now."

Sakura was choking and gasping for air as Naruto's hand tightened around her neck. She clawed at his hand but it only made him tighten his grip further. After a short while he loosened his grip to let her breath.

"Speak foolish girl. Before I choke the life out of you!" Naruto snarled.

Sakura gasped for air before trying to speak, "N-Naruto! What's gotten into you?!"

This caused him to tighten his grip once more before letting her speak again, "This time answer my questions!"

Sakura's face was turning purple as she squirmed in Naruto's hand trying to free herself.

"I-I don't think I have a reason.. for you to not kill me. I've treated you poorly over.. and over, never thinking about your feelings until recently.. and even then I still forget.. to think about them. I know I ruined your world.. but I wanted to talk to you so I... could tell you that I'm sorry." Sakura managed to get her answer out in between gasps.

"And?" Naruto choked her some more before letting her continue.

Sakura didn't speak this time. She was afraid of Naruto. And quite frankly hoped this was all a nightmare she'd wake up to, but as time passed he tightened his grip again and she realized it was reality.

Sakura was kicking her legs and clawing at Naruto's arm as her face was turning a very dark purple. She was helpless. Even for Sakura his grip was too strong for her.

Naruto laughed sadistically as he watched her squirm helpless in his grasp. "This is nothing. I'm being nice. If I had my way you would've been dead the instant you used him."

He raised his other hand, claws extended out, and slashed her right cheek. Blood slowly oozed out of the shallow wound and dripped onto the ground. Naruto's eyes watched the blood flow. It was almost as if he was enjoying this whole thing. Naruto never enjoyed inflicting pain on others and yet here he was laughing as he choked the life out of her. Sakura felt she was at fault for it though. She felt that she was the one who pushed Naruto to that point.

Naruto was getting ready to claw her again when he disappeared in a poof of smoke causing Sakura to collapse to the ground holding her neck while coughing harshly.

 **FLASHBACK - End (Present Day)**

Sakura was still in her bed hugging the pillow as tears rolled down her face with one hand unconsciously holding her bruised neck.

 _"What happened to Naruto? He suddenly became a different person entirely and it was scary. It was like an alternate personality. He enjoyed hurting me and was going to some more but suddenly disappeared."_

The thought of what Naruto might have done if he didn't disappear scared Sakura and caused a chill to run down her spine. She was now officially terrified of Naruto and didn't want to be anywhere near him.

 _"Did I cause all of this? Was I the one to cause him to gain an alternate personality that enjoyed inflicting pain?"_ The thoughts running through her mind made Sakura cry some more.

She couldn't take it anymore. Her mind was torturing her. She potentially ruined her friend's lives and it caused her great guilt as it ate away at her heart. She wanted to end it all and some small part of her wished Naruto did finish her. Sakura felt she deserved it after all she's put him through, and through it all he still cared for her as a friend.

After a couple hours of more tormenting thoughts Sakura had finally managed to calm her mind and think clearly for once.

 _"Okay tomorrow I'm going to speak to Hinata. I don't care if Neji tells me to turn back I'm going to barge in and speak with her. If I can't talk to Naruto I NEED to speak with her, and their friendship could possibly restart from there after she's heard my story and understands, even if she doesn't like it."_

After her little pep-talk Sakura finally fell asleep and for the first time, despite all of her guilt and sorrow, had nightmares as she slept.

* * *

(A/N: Its still the same night)

It was dusk when Hinata finished her shower and was now in her PJ's. She climbed into her bed and pulled the sheets over herself so only her head was left uncovered. As she tried sleeping her mind kept her awake. Naruto's grin or his laugh kept popping in her mind. She wanted to see that grin or hear his laugh again but she couldn't for now. Or more so she didn't want to for now. She needed to work on losing some of her feelings for him before she could see him again. She wanted to make sure that she wouldn't get in his way as much as it pained her to do so. It was for the best and overtime she'd get over it if time was kind to her.

Hinata's eyes filled with tears as she imagined a life without Naruto. He was her world, she wanted nothing more than to be with him at his side each step of the way. And she felt bad that she didn't have the courage to be there for him when they were kids. He had a rough childhood as did she. But what pained her more than her own childhood was to see Naruto suffer.

She had always admired him, he was brave and never gave up. Those were qualities she didn't have at the time and she wanted them. She wanted to be brave just like Naruto. Hinata inherited Naruto's nindo, his ninja way. And overtime after watching Naruto grow up and become stronger as he gained more and more friends as time passed she too slowly became more and more brave. But even with the bravery she gained it was still shattered easily, because of her past and a big part of her mind still considered herself weak and pathetic as her father and clan told her so. This was also the reason why she felt she had little chance of ever getting together with the man she loved. She felt that he wouldn't want a weak, pathetic girl to spend the rest of his life with. That ideal was hammered into as a child by her father. He always told her that she'd never get a husband if she continued to be a shy and timid pushover.

Her father would always scold her and belittle her because of her ability or lack thereof. The clan despised her, and even Neji at one point hated her too. The clan was unimpressed at her ability since her little sister could beat her, the heir to the Hyuga clan. Neji used to hate her and wanted nothing to do with her because he blamed her for his Father's death, and he resented the main branch.

But after Naruto beat him and he learned the truth of his Father's death his perspective changed. He became more kind, and eventually cared for Hinata's wellbeing. With Neji's support along side Naruto's support Hinata was able to make it through her childhood. To this day she is thankful for Neji and Naruto, and having to remove one from the equation was nearly unbearable for her, especially since it was Naruto she'd have to remove.

All Hinata could do at this point was cry her sorrows away, until she passed out from tiredness. When she did fall asleep Hinata had nightmares of Naruto leaving her or seeing him date Sakura and laugh at her sadistically saying that she was a fool to think that he'd fall for the likes of her. These dreams happened every night and it tormented Hinata to the brink of insanity sometimes. Each day she wished for these nightmares to stop but they never did, and this night was no different as she tossed and turned throughout the night.

* * *

 **Edit** : I revised this chapter and when I got to explaining the clan depising Hinata as well as Neji. I counted how many times I used the word "her" and it end up being 12 times. Talk about diverse use of nouns and pronouns XD.

Hello my faithful readers, I really hoped you enjoyed this chapter. I decided to emphasis the characters' emotions and thoughts in this chapter and the current states they're in to help you get a better idea of how they feel, including Sakura.

Speaking of her I have to admit I did enjoy writing her flashback, and I'm curious to see if anyone can guess what happened to Naruto that made him act the way he did.

I also decided to try and show a flashback through a dream, as in Naruto's dream. Everything in that dream did happen except for when it turned into a Nightmare. Honestly that'd be weird to have the ground open up on someone then close again after swallowing them. I felt like I should give you guys a little bit of fluff in this chapter to ease the depressed atmosphere this chapter has, and hope you enjoyed that little bit as did I when writing it. I thought it was cute and helped further develop their relationship, albeit it was in the past. But I did not only write it to ease the sorrow but to show you how closely they've bonded before their friendship was broken, which I guess in a weird way makes it more painful to see them in the states they are now for you guys, as to if I did that on purpose is for you to decide. I'm just an innocent man writing a story. There's no possible way I'd enjoy making you suffer by teasing you with fluff. But I will admit I enjoy writing fluff. I mean who wouldn't, it's adorable.

After I finished writing the little scene about Hinata getting some sweets, I.E cinnamon buns I decided to go get some myself since I love them. They're so good IMO. And I selfishly ate them all by myself while writing the rest of the story XD.

Next update will hopefully be by Halloween, and I have a special treat for you when it comes. If I don't update by Halloween I'd like to say Happy Halloween to you guys and hope you have a fun night on the night.

As always fav, follow, review if you wish. Have fun, and until next time.. PEACE!


	6. A New Mission Part 1

SURPRISE! Thought I'd release the chapter a day early just for you guys :D

(A/N: This story as a whole, when it started, is taking place in October, not only because of Halloween but also so I could write some Christmas Chapters eventually. Sure I could skip forward in the story to that point but I didn't really want to do that.) Now before you begin the two part chapter I'd like to say that I really pushed my limits, schedule-wise because I planned on making a two part chapter for you guys as a special treat since it's nearing Halloween. It took me nearly two weeks to make chapter 5 and I decided to make two chapter both being around nine thousand words each within the same time frame, it's a wonder at how I'm alive after stressing myself to make the deadline. Honestly, I was sweating bullets as I neared the deadline and I still wasn't finished. Whenever I had a day off, I'd spend 4-6hrs on the story, though admittedly most of that time was actually me just staring at the damn screen while I tried to figure out how to get from Point A to Point B. The first half was fairly easy though it still took me a while to write since it's roughly nine thousand words. The second half is where I struggled because I had major writer's block.

Also just a heads up for you all. I went back and revised all the Chapters correcting any mistakes I made in both description and dialogue. The biggest thing I revised was the fight scene in Chapter 1. It has more dialogue now along with more emotion so it doesn't feel 'forced.' So if you feel like it you can go back and re-read all that goodness.

 **Disclaimer** **: I don't own Naruto.**

"Talking"

 _"Thoughts"_

* * *

 ** _Chapter 6: A New Mission Part 1_**

* * *

It's been three weeks since the incident and nothing has changed. Naruto is still depressed as ever and his performance has been directly affected by his state, to the point where he's managed to ruin his missions. Not only that but at his apartment he's been walking around like a zombie, bumping into things and dropping items by accident like plates or cups. Sometimes when Minato came over he'd find the place in a disaster, to which he'd make his son clean it up for his health.

Hinata's state is no different though. She's also had a decrease in performance on her missions, to the point where her mistakes put the whole team at risk. Minato asked Neji how she's doing at the Hyuga compound and he's said that she won't leave her room unless it's for a meal. And every night Neji would walk by her room to get to his and he'd hear her crying. On top of it all she wouldn't leave the compound unless it was for a mission.

Minato was tired of this behaviour by both of them, especially his son's.

He decided it was time he did something to try and fix the situation. It was finally time for him to give Naruto that little push he needed.

Thus Minato left his office and went to Naruto's apartment.

When he reached his destination Minato knocked on the door before entering. He came into the living room and found Naruto sleeping on the couch with bags under his eyes.

The blonde man walked into the kitchen and took out a cup filled it with cold water, then walked over to Naruto and poured it on him.

It worked as Naruto jumped up from the couch in a fighting stance as his sleepy eyes fluttered open.

Naruto saw his father and wasn't happy.

"Oh, it's you." He said in an unenthusiastic tone.

"Yes, it's me. I came here to tell you that you need to stop it with this behaviour. It's unhealthy and is affecting your life." Minato explained in a concerned voice.

"Yeah, yeah Dad. I know you know that this whole situation has hurt me. But I don't think you know how much it's hurt me. It's not some incident that hurts me for a few days then goes away. Hinata was my best friend. We hung out almost everyday and I quite frankly enjoyed her company very much, so losing her has been very hard for me." Naruto complained to his father.

"I know it's not easy for you to deal with this, but it needs to stop. You need to move on in a sort of sense. Get out there and try to regain Hinata's trust. Explain what happened! Do something other than mope around!" Minato said in one of his sincerest voices.

Naruto was clearly annoyed by his father now. "Don't you think I've already tried that?! Hinata won't speak me and when I did run into her she fainted on me like we're strangers again. And to top if off Neji won't be a messenger for me to explain to her the situation."

"Yes. I'm aware of that, but this isn't like you to give up so easily. You're always so determined and never give in. So seeing you like this is distressing for me."

"Well what do you suggest I do then Great Almighty Father?" Naruto asked sarcastically not expecting an answer.

Minato then took a more serious appearance and tone. "I'm glad you asked, because I'm here to assign you a new mission. Tomorrow I expect you to be at my office by 7:00pm so I can explain the details. Don't be late!"

Naruto was dumbfounded by his father as his jaw dropped. "Are you kidding me?! I didn't expect you to answer the question. I was joking!"

"Well I'm not. So I expect you to be on time. I'm not asking you as your father, but as an order from, yours truly, the Hokage." Minato stated.

"Okay okay. I'll be there tomorrow. Now can you please leave." Naruto pleaded.

"That was all I had to say so I'll entertain your request. But before I leave I'd like to remind you that you're to be at the Hokage Tower in my office by 7:00pm tomorrow. No later!" Minato reminded his son before shutting the front door behind him.

Once his father left Naruto dragged his body back to the couch and threw himself on it, promptly falling asleep.

Now that Minato had dealt with his son he headed towards the Hyuga compound for his next target. Conveniently when he got there he found Neji sitting at a small table in the courtyard.

Neji noticed Minato walk towards him and got up to bow. "Welcome Lord Fourth."

He glanced up at Minato and couldn't help but ask, "To what do we owe this visit?"

Minato waved him to sit back down as he took a seat. "I told you to stop addressing me like that. Just call me by my name. And I came here to speak with you. I need you to send a message."

* * *

Back at Naruto's place he was dreaming of his last encounter with Sakura.

 **FLASHBACK - Start (2 weeks ago)**

"The tell me Sakura what would you like to talk about. I'm sure my little friend here would love to hear what you have to say, and quite frankly I don't feel obligated to stop him this time." Naruto's smile grew wider as he moved closer to Sakura, making her move back.

Sakura laughed nervously, "Now Naruto before you do anything rash let's talk it out. You know, like grown ups. There's no need for anyone to get hurt."

"Oh, is that so. Did you think about that when it was me, when you decided to kiss me. If so, what made you think it wouldn't cause any harm? Hmm." Naruto inquired. The sinister smile growing even wider threatening to tear his face in half.

"No I didn't think about that when I kissed you. I was angry and flustered. I couldn't think straight. So I guess wh-" she was cut off by Naruto.

"Well then since you didn't think about that I guess I don't either."

 _"She's all yours Kurama. Just don't kill her." Naruto said to his tenant as he switched places with the demon._

Thus Naruto's appearance changed into his former Nine-Tails state before he could control Kurama's power. He had fangs appear and his nails turned into claws and his eyes became red slits that had a menacing glare that accompanied them. To top the scary look off, he had a dark aurora emanate off of him.

When Naruto spoke again it was Kurama who spoke, with his intimidating husky voice, albeit Sakura thought it was still Naruto she was talking to. "Tell me this little girl. When have you ever thought things through? When have you ever taken Naruto's feelings into account whenever you did something rash? When have you ever not used him to impress that pesky brat of an Uchiha that just so happens to be his best friend? Answer me honestly and I'll make the consequences less severe." Kurama laughed maniacally.

Sakura gulped. She didn't know what happened, but this Naruto terrified her. She didn't like it one bit, and it made her regret trying to talk to him in the first place. He looked like he was ready to kill. "Uh... half the time I think things through. Never and never." Sakura closed her eyes expecting something bad to happen but it never came.

"If you think things through half the time then how come you let it slide when it came to Naruto and your jealousy of Sasuke?" Kurama growled.

"As I said I was angry and flustered. I didn't think things through because I couldn't think straight and only had one thing on my mind."

"Let me guess what that one thing was. It was to make Sasuke jealous of you by kissing his best friend while he watched." Kurama had a menacing smirk on his face as he knew he was right. He moved closer to Sakura making her move backwards until she hit a wall in an empty alley.

 _ **"What are you planning on doing Kurama?" Naruto asked as Kurama cornered Sakura in the alley.**_

 _"You'll see." Kurama laughed sadistically in his mind. (A/N: They've essentially switched places. So Naruto is currently the voice in Naruto's head while Kurama has full control of Naruto's body)._

 ** _"Fine. Do what you wish as long as you don't scar the poor girl. And that means no killing!" Naruto ordered._**

 _"Oh I'm not going to scar her. That would be too kind of me to do such things to her. But as you wish I won't do anything rash." Kurama chuckled in his mind._

"Y-Y-Yes." Sakura stuttered as she looked away not wanting to stare into Naruto's evil looking eyes. She found them more intimidating than the Hyuga glare, and the Hyuga glare was frightening.

As she answered, Kurama put one of his hands around her neck and lifted Sakura off her feet. "Then tell me why I shouldn't kill you right for what you did to him? You full well know what you did to his world. He was so close to getting his chance and you ruined it for him. It would take a miracle for him to get another and miracles don't happen often. I'm being more than generous at the moment, because you are still alive.. for now." Kurama added in the last part as he had a foxy grin on his face.

Sakura was choking and gasping for air as Kurama's hand tightened around her neck. She clawed at his hand but it only made him tighten his grip further.

 _ **"Kurama! What are you doing?! And what do you mean she ruined my chance? I don't understand what you're talking about?" Naruto was furious with Kurama's actions but also clueless as to what he was referring to.**_

 _"Baka! Let me continue on. I'm only here to question her. If you'd let me I would've killed her already. I despise this woman, and she's done nothing but treat you terribly." Kurama explained in an angry tone._

 ** _Naruto couldn't argue with that. Sakura did cause him a great deal of pain both now and in the past, so he reluctantly let Kurama to continue even though he didn't like where this was headed. "Fine, keep 'questioning' her."_**

After a short while Kurama loosened his grip to let her breath.

"Speak foolish girl. Before I choke the life out of you!" Kurama snarled.

Sakura gasped for air before trying to speak, "N-Naruto! What's gotten into you?!"

This caused Kurama to tighten his grip once more before letting her speak again, "This time answer my questions!"

Sakura's face was turning purple as she squirmed in Kurama's hand trying to free herself.

"I-I don't think I have a reason.. for you to not kill me. I've treated you poorly over.. and over, never thinking about you feelings until recently.. and even then I still forget.. to think about them. I know I ruined your world.. But I wanted to talk to you so I.. could tell you that I'm sorry." Sakura managed to get her answer out in between gasps.

"And?" Kurama tightened his grip again before letting her continue.

 _ **"Could you at least ease up on the choking. She said she's sorry and by her expression and tone I do believe she means it." Naruto requested.**_

 _"Fine. I'll do something less severe." Kurama entertained Naruto's request._

Sakura didn't speak this time. She was afraid of Naruto. And quite frankly hoped this was all a nightmare she would wake up to, but as time passed Kurama choked her again making her realize that this was reality.

Sakura was kicking her legs and clawing at Kurama's arm as her face was turning a very dark purple. She was helpless. Even for Sakura, Kurama's grip was too strong for her.

Kurama laughed sadistically as he watched her squirm helpless in his grasp. "This is nothing. I'm being nice. If I had it my way you would've been dead the instant you used him."

Kurama raised his hand, claws extended out, and slashed her right cheek. The blood slowly oozed out of the shallow wound and dripped on the ground. Kurama was watching intently with a sadistic grin. Sakura thought this was still the Naruto she knew. If only she knew how wrong she was.

 _ **"Don't even think about doing it Kurama!" Naruto nearly shouted.**_

 _"What? choking is out the question so thought clawing could suffice." Kurama explained in a nonchalant voice._

 ** _"Nope. No more, you've done enough!" Naruto exclaimed as he was fed up with Kurama's actions. Thus he resumed control over his body as Kurama was about to claw Sakura again, and threw the demon back into his cage._**

Once Naruto regained control he promptly disappeared in a poof of smoke.

He reappeared in his apartment and went over to his bed and collapsed.

 _"Why couldn't you just go easy? What happened to doing nothing rash?" Naruto complained to Kurama._

 ** _"What do you mean I didn't do anything rash. To be completely honest I would've enjoyed torturing the girl, but you wouldn't let me." Kurama countered._**

 _"I think your definition of rash is completely different than mine, because that was definitely rash, and that's putting it lightly." Naruto explained._

 ** _"Well, you shouldn't have given me control in the first place if that's what you think." Kurama chuckled._**

 _"Yeah, I'll definitely keep that in mind next time." Naruto gave a resolute answer._

 _"From now on I'm not going to let you have a say in things." Naruto said as he had his arms behind his head while he laid on his bed in the real world._

 ** _Kurama couldn't help but laugh, which sounded more terrifying than it was suppose to. "So now you're going to punish me huh? Whatever you say kid whatever you say."_**

 _This irritated Naruto, "Can you quit calling me kid! I'm almost Nineteen ya know!"_

 ** _"Listen here. I've lived for centuries so not matter you're age you're still a kid in my eyes, both behavior-wise and age." Kurama explained while chuckling._**

 _"Great first it was 'brat' now it's 'kid' I wonder what's next?" Naruto asked sarcastically._

 ** _"Well I mean I could call you fishcake. I think it'd suit you quite well." Kurama continued to laugh as Naruto's jaw dropped._**

 _"That's it I give up. I'm done. I'd much rather be called 'kid' than 'fishcake.'" Naruto fisted his hair in frustration. Kurama was still able to get under his skin so easily after all these years._

 _The thought of Kurama calling him fishcake scared him, thus Naruto promptly left leaving Kurama all alone in the dark room._

 **FLASHBACK - End (Present Day)**

Naruto got up from the couch after making sure he was actually in the real world, then went to the kitchen to make some instant ramen. As he waited patiently for the ramen to be done he thought of his actions, more specifically Kurama's, and regretted giving him control. Ever since that day Naruto has done his absolute best to avoid Sakura. He didn't want to face her after what he let Kurama do. If any she was probably doing the same. Naruto saw the look of terror in her eyes as Kurama questioned his friend.

After Naruto finished his ramen he left his apartment and headed for Sasuke's apartment. He felt he could possibly manage to say sorry to Sakura through him.

When Naruto got to his friend's apartment after jumping across the Village on the rooftops he knocked on his door three times and waited for a response. Naruto heard hushed chatter on the other side and was curious to find out who else was at Sasuke's apartment.

Sasuke opened the door and froze when he saw Naruto. As for Naruto he swore he saw Sasuke flinch at the sight of him.

"Uh, Hi Sasuke. Could I come in? I need to speak with you." Naruto asked hesitantly.

Sasuke's response was swinging the door closed but Naruto had his foot in the door just incase, causing him yell in pain when the door hit his foot.

"What was that for?!"

"I just want to talk." Naruto calmed down.

"Yeah well I don't. I know how that went with Sakura when you had a 'talk' with her, so leave." Sasuke retorted.

"Wait? How do you know about that? Were you spying on me?" Naruto accused.

Sasuke didn't reply but slowly opened the door revealing Sakura who was currently cowering behind Sasuke's bed with a scared look in her eyes.

Naruto's eyes widened in shock, and out of instinct he started for her but was stopped by Sasuke. "I don't think that's a good idea dobe, she's terrified of you and I don't blame her."

After hearing Sasuke's explanation Naruto dropped his head as he was flooded with guilt.

"I-I'm sorry Sakura. I didn't mean for any of that to happen when we last spoke." Naruto confessed with his head still down.

When he lifted his head his eyes were filled with tears and a bit snot was coming out of his nose.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and sighed, "Just great. Now I have two cry babies to deal with. How troublesome."

Sakura didn't budge. Sasuke walked over to his bed and motioned Naruto to take a seat across the room on a couch. Naruto wiped his face and went to sit down causing Sakura to quickly hide behind Sasuke and cower in fear. Her head was peeking out from behind his shoulder as she held onto his shoulders for reassurance.

"Why are you here dobe?"

"I came here to talk about what happened between me and Sakura, but I see she's already told you. I was going to ask if you could tell her that I'm sorry." Naruto explained.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK - Start (1 hour ago)**

Sasuke was lying on his bed in deep thought when he heard a knock at his door. He grumbled and got up to go answer the door.

When he opened the door he saw a quivering Sakura standing in front of him. She looked scared, but that didn't make him feel sorry for her.

"What are you doing here? I thought I made it clear that I wasn't going to talk to you until Naruto and Hinata's problem was fixed." Sasuke didn't sound too happy.

"I-I c-came here t-to talk about that." Sakura said in a meek tone, which caught Sasuke off guard. She's never acted like this or spoke in such a manner.

"C-Could I come in?" Sakura asked while looking both ways before looking at him. It looked like she was keeping an eye out for someone, and by her current state it must be someone she's afraid of and Sakura is rarely afraid of anything.

Sasuke sighed, "I guess." He stepped to the side to let Sakura in before closing the door.

"So. Why are you here exactly?"

Sakura calmed down a bit before speaking, "It's about Naruto."

"What about dobe?" Sasuke was now intrigued.

"H-He almost k-killed me." Sakura answered as tears started to fill her eyes.

Sasuke didn't believe such an answer and his first instinct was to doubt her assumption, but he just stood there in shock from the tears in her eyes.

He regained his composure and asked, "What do you mean he tried killing you?! You're one of his closest friends."

Sakura sat down on Sasuke's bed before speaking, "I know that I'm a close friend of his and that he cares for his friends' wellbeing, but I'm not lying. Something happened to him while I was trying to explain my actions for THAT night and he snapped."

Sasuke was now really interested in what she had to say and took a seat across from her on the couch. "What do you mean he 'snapped?'"

"N-Naruto lifted me off the ground and started choking me after he cornered me in an empty alley, while he was questioning me. Some of the questions he asked were about himself and made little sense. Plus he apparently knew I did it out of jealousy." A tear rolled down Sakura's face as she explained.

Though Sasuke did care about Sakura as a friend, he really didn't feel like sitting next to her and comforting her. "So what exactly did he question you about?"

"I-I don't k-know really. I was scared, and just blurted out answers. H-He looked like he really w-wanted to k-kill me for what I d-did to him." Sakura started crying silently as she looked at the hands in her lap.

Sasuke just sat there and thought about what she just told him before speaking, "I knew Naruto cared for Hinata since he loves her, despite the fact he doesn't realize it. But I didn't know he cared about her that MUCH in his life."

"I know. It makes me feel even worse for destroying his relationship with her, but at the same time I'm now completely terrified of him." Sakura's thoughts and feelings were conflicted in her mind as she spoke.

Sasuke was still a little doubtful at what she's been saying though so he wanted to make sure.

"Sakura, are you absolutely sure it was dobe who did this to you and not someone using a transformation jutsu or something?" Sasuke inquired as he leaned forward with his hands intertwined on his lap.

Sakura thought about the question before coming to an answer, "Yes. His appearance was a little different, but it definitely was Naruto who I spoke to that day."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean his appearance was different?"

"Well the first thing I noticed was his eyes. They turned into red slits, almost like the eyes of a cat. The second thing I noticed was the fangs that appeared. His nails also turned into claws and the air around him became ominous and dark." Sakura described the differences as a chill went up her spine.

After thinking it through Sasuke came to an answer which he didn't share with Sakura as a slight smirk spread across his face.

 **FLASHBACK - End (Present Day)**

"Well since you're here and so is she I think it's safe to say you can convey your apology as long as I'm here, since she's utterly terrified of you dobe." Sasuke said in a nonchalant voice.

Naruto unconsciously started rubbing the back of his neck as he started, "Sakura. I'm sorry for what happened that day. I uh.." He trailed off before continuing. "I didn't mean for that to happen at all. I was super angry and didn't know what came over me." Naruto lied about Kurama.

"I seriously didn't mean to hurt you. I'd never want to hurt my friends, they're the most precious people in my life." Naruto confessed.

At his confession Sasuke looked at Sakura who was still hiding behind him and gave her an "I told you so" kind of look.

"All I ask is for your forgiveness, and hopefully things can go back to normal. but if you don't want to that's fine I'll understand. I did something unforgivable." Tears started to roll down Naruto's face as he finished his apology.

Sakura stayed behind Sasuke and was still quivering, albeit it calmed a bit after Naruto apologized.

 _ **"HAH! The woman if terrified of you, more specifically me! This is very amusing to watch. Her new demeanor suits her too." Kurama chuckled while holding his stomach.**_

"Shut up!" Naruto said to Kurama, and quickly realized he said it aloud since his friends were looking at him like he was crazy.

He quickly waved his hands in front of him while shaking his head, "Hehe, don't mind me. I tend to blurt things out."

This piqued Sasuke even further about his assumption while it made Sakura believe that Naruto had an alter ego more.

Sasuke threw the thought aside for now and gave Sakura a look that told her to return the apology.

"U-Uh, I w-would also like t-to say that I-I'm sorry. What happened that n-night was done o-out o-of jealousy and I c-carelessly used y-you to do it, not th-thinking a-about your feelings or the c-consequences that might a-accompany it." Sakura stammered.

She took a few deep breaths to calm herself down before continuing, "I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I was angry and flustered at Sasuke for how he treated me earlier that day and selfishly took it out on you to get back at him."

Naruto's eyes widened at the new found information and looked at Sasuke, then Sakura and back to Sasuke.

 _ **"See what did I tell you kid." Kurama smirked.**_

 _"Shh. Be quiet I'm busy processing this." Naruto shushed the demon._

It was Sasuke's turn to talk after he let out a long sigh, "Long story short, Sakura was following me around the Village and I finally confronted her about it and she left angry."

"Well I can see why she was angry. You're not exactly the best at 'confronting' people." Naruto snickered.

This time Sakura gave Sasuke an "I told you so" look.

Naruto then cleared his throat before speaking, "But in all seriousness I am truly sorry for how I treated you Sakura. I don't deserve your forgiveness, yet here I am asking for it. And I do accept your apology and forgive you. I know how Sasuke can be and have been annoyed by his 'confrontations' more than once." He glared at Sasuke who returned it, just as intense.

"It's okay Naruto. I know how much you care for Hinata. I honestly have felt guilt and sorrow ever since I broke your friendship with her, and want nothing more than you two to become friends again. So I forgive you as well. Though in all honesty it'll take me a while before I can fully trust you again after what you did." Sakura gave a resolute answer while still hiding behind Saskue, but she was no longer quivering and some of her composure had returned.

Naruto let out a big sigh of relief, "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you Sakura. You won't regret it. BELIEVE IT!" He shouted as he gave her a thumbs up.

Sasuke sighed at his friend's childish antics as Sakura giggled.

"Well then how am I suppose to talk to Hinata, let alone rebuild our friendship?" Naruto asked while he had his arms behind his head as he slouched on the couch, (Hah it rhymes!).

"I think I have an idea." Sakura answered who had moved from behind Sasuke and was now sitting beside him.

"Could you elaborate on this idea?" Sasuke asked despite not looking too interested.

"My initial plan was to infiltrate the Hyuga compound on my own since I myself haven't been able to speak with Hinata because of Neji. I even tried barging in, but Neji still managed to stop me. Now that we have two people I think the plan could work. One of us could distract Neji under the guise of trying to speak with Hinata, while the other scales the compound to reach her room. But I don't know who should be the one to talk to her." Sakura trailed off.

"You should Sakura."

"But Naruto? Don't you want to speak with her?" Sakura asked in surprise.

"Yes I do, but I ran into her once and she fainted on me. If I try to speak with her the plan will be for nothing as she will do it again." Naruto sighed in defeat with disappointment clearly on his face.

"Oh, Okay. Well, I'll tell her my side of the story.. Is there anything you want me to say to her?" Sakura questioned as she looked Naruto in the eyes.

"No, I'm fine. The time will come when I can speak with her." He waved her off.

"Okay let's go." Sakura got up to leave.

"Actually, Sakura, could you wait outside for a bit while me and Naruto have a talk?"

"Uh, sure. I don't see why not."

Thus Sakura scurried out the door and waited patiently.

"Ahem. So Naruto, I think we both know it wasn't you who did all those things to Sakura, but I'm curious as to why you didn't tell her the truth." Sasuke looked his friend dead in the eyes.

Naruto was taken aback from Sasuke's decisiveness, "H-How did you know?"

"Well for one Sakura told me about the little encounter you two had, which gave me a good idea of who it actually was that hurt her. And two your little outburst earlier was a dead give away, after that I was a hundred percent sure of my assumption." Sasuke yawned as he explained his case.

"So? What about it?" Naruto crossed his arms and pouted over Sasuke showing off.

"Uh, the fact that Kurama is able to speak directly through you, let alone control your body." Sasuke retorted.

"That information I'd like to keep to myself, and as for Sakura don't you dare tell her about Kurama. She'll hate me for it." Naruto whispered the last statement as best as he could.

The Uchiha stretched his arms, "Whatever you say dobe. Now go and follow the plan." He waved his friend off.

"I mean it Sasuke, don't speak a word about Kurama." The blonde ordered.

"Sure, sure. Now just leave my apartment. I've been disturbed enough already and would like some peace and quiet." Sasuke yawned again.

Naruto finally left Sasuke's apartment and the Uchiha was left to his own devices.

"It's a wonder how I'm still alive with those two being my teammates and close friends." Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose.

* * *

Sakura was waiting outside Sasuke's apartment and heard muffled voices for awhile before she saw Naruto come out, to which she flinched a bit. "Sasuke isn't coming?"

"No. He wants peace and quiet since we bothered him." Naruto air quoted peace and quiet.

"Oh, that's a shame." A part of her wished he did, so Naruto wouldn't possibly try anything again.

"Well what are we waiting for let's go see Hinata." Naruto started jumping across the building and Sakura followed shortly after wanting to keep her distance just in case.

When the two got there they parted ways, Naruto went to go through the main gate, while Sakura jumped over the wall and started scaling the building. As she reached Hinata's window she heard Naruto and Neji having a dispute. Sakura lightly knocked on the window loud enough so Hinata could hear it but still quiet enough to not alert Neji. She waited a while before she saw the window open and a very shocked Hinata, who stumbled backwards.

"S-Sakura?! What are y-"

Sakura jumped in and tried to cover Hinata's mouth but tripped on the window sill causing her to fall on Hinata.

Sakura's face became worried and she quickly started talking.

* * *

Back in the front courtyard Neji was busy pushing Naruto back out of the compound when he heard a loud crash come from Hinata's room. Both the ninja ran to her room through the compound. At this point Neji didn't care for Naruto, he was worried about Hinata.

When they got there he told Naruto to stay out of sight. Naruto reluctantly did as he was told as Neji opened Hinata's door and saw Sakura overtop Hinata (no not like that) and was explaining something. Hinata's face was a mix of worry, horror, and confusion. Neji quickly walked over to Sakura and pulled her off Hinata. When Sakura met his gaze a slight chill went down her spine as he glared at her with anger and disappointment.

"I thought I told you that you can't speak with Hinata-sama." Neji growled at the girl.

"Y-Yes, but I couldn't help myself and needed to tell her something." Sakura gulped.

Meanwhile Neji was lecturing Sakura as he dragged her out of the room by the collar Hinata caught Naruto peeking into the room with worry stained on his face. Their eyes locked and stared at each other for awhile before they both looked away, embarrassed. Hinata swore she saw a blush on Naruto's face as she looked back at him. He was busy paying attention to Neji who grabbed him by the collar and started dragging him as well. Hinata just sat on her floor in shock from the whole situation as she heard Neji shouting with Naruto pouting and complaining. She was greatly confused by what Sakura said and more so about Neji dragging her and Naruto out. Hinata was also very flustered about Naruto, seeing him gave her butterflies. But a the same time Hinata was also giggling inside from seeing the two dragged away by Neji.

Within the compound Naruto was complaining, "Neji, c'mon I brought her back a while ago unharmed, don't I at least deserve to speak with her?" He crossed his arms as he was being dragged.

"No! Though I am thankful for you bringing her back unharmed you still aren't allowed to see her. It's up to Hinata-sama to decide when she wishes to speak with you." Neji glared at Naruto, then turned his attention to the pinkette.

"And for you. I'm deeply disappointed in your actions. You not only broke into the compound, but also tried speaking with Hinata-sama when I specifically told you that you can't speak with her."

Sakura just crossed her arms and stuck her tongue out, to which Neji sighed.

"For your information Hinata let me into her room. And second, I didn't try to speak with her, I did. So being dragged away while I was having a conversation with her is very rude."

"Really? Is that so? From what I saw Hinata-sama was shocked to see you and half scared." Neji had a small smirk on his face.

"Well. It's been a while since we've spoken, of course she'd be shocked." Sakura continued to pout until they were at the main gate and Neji threw them out.

"You two, now officially can't come here unless you're invited or have business with the Clan." Neji stated as he walked away.

"You know, he really gets on my nerves sometimes." Sakura muttered while dusting herself off.

Naruto rolled his eyes, "Tell me about it."

"Anyways I think I'm gonna go home now."

"Wait, did you manage to tell her the story?" Naruto grabbed Sakura's arm, who flinched upon contact, he noticed this and let go.

"Hehe, sorry I forgot." Naruto apologized.

"Well I wasn't able to tell her all of it, but I managed to get the main parts out. Though they might have been jumbled." Sakura explained while laughing nervously.

"That's alright. Thanks a million Sakura. Now hopefully since you've told some of the story, she will eventually come around and want to talk with me." Naruto's eyes were gleaming with hope as he waved goodbye to Sakura and headed in a different direction.

"No problem Naruto. It's the least I can do since I was the one who ruined your relationship with her." Sakura tried smiling to him. But couldn't and turned around to leave.

"Thanks again." he shouted to her.

* * *

Naruto was back at his apartment taking a shower thinking of what he should say when Hinata comes around. When Naruto came out he changed into some black sweatpants with a grey t-shirt and walked into the kitchen and made some ramen. While he was waiting for his ramen to finish Naruto was trying to think back when he and his father were talking about Hinata at Ichiraku's, albeit his father didn't necessarily know he was speaking of her.

 _"What was my Dad trying to tell me? It was obviously something that clearly stood out to him, but what was it? And how come I don't know about it. You'd think I'd know about it, but for some reason I don't."_ Naruto was rubbing his chin thinking hard about it while he sat in his chair at the table. _"I mean it had something to do with my feelings, but what was it. Let me see, I told him about the weird feelings I get when I see her or I'm near Hinata, then he smiled and was about to tell me something."_ The blonde thought long and hard before he gave up on the subject as he was stumped.

The water started boiling so he poured it into the ramen cup and waited a while before stuffing his face with his favourite instant ramen. Afterwards he rubbed his belly and was satisfied, completely forgetting about what his father tried telling him. Naruto got up from his seat and went to his room to sleep since it was starting to get late.

* * *

Over at the Hokage Tower, Minato was busy approving and filing the piles of paperwork in front of him. He may have achieved his dream job, but this in all honesty was too much. He knew what to expect as the Hokage but never imagined there would be this much work.

Minato was too busy caught up in his work to realize that Yamato and Kaskashi Hatake had entered the room, both through a cloud of smoke.

Kaskashi cleared his throat to get Minato's attention, "Minato-Sensei, you called for us."

"Well at least someone calls me by my name, though you were my student so it's only natural." Minato chuckled.

Yamato spoke this time, "Lord Fourth. May I ask why you called us so late at night?"

"Ah yes. About that, I called the two of you tonight to tell you that you're both being assigned a new mission as of tomorrow. I'm sorry for calling you so late but I was busy caught up at work as you can see, so I didn't have much time to spare."

Kakashi was piqued at this 'new mission', "What is this new mission we're being assigned, considering you're asking two Jounin who are Ex-ANBU members?"

"I'll get onto that shortly, but for now I'd like to tell you some details before hand so you understand the mission." Minato folded his hands and put them in his lap.

"These details are?" Yamato inquired, clearly annoyed that he was woken in the middle of the night.

Ten minutes later both the Jounin standing in front of Minato had confused looks on their faces. "What does this have to do with our mission Sensei?"

"Yeah, I don't quite understand either. What you're telling us seems irrelevant." Yamato chimed.

"Once I explain the mission I've assigned you both it'll all make sense." Minato grinned.

* * *

The next day Naruto got up and did his daily routine, though he kept the same clothes on since he only put them on last night. He looked at the Calendar on his wall to see it was the 31st of October, then his watch and had time to kill before having to show up at the Hokage Tower so he decided it'd be best for him to train since it's been awhile. The last time he remembered training was with Hinata, and hasn't trained since. But seeing as he didn't really have anything to do he reluctantly went to training grounds seven and started practicing.

In the end it was quite worth the time. As he was practicing his Taijutsu he was also able to alievate himself of some pent up anger. And to further it he managed to get some Ninjutsu practice down as well. He was practicing some tactics/strategies with his clones when he looked down at his watch and realized he was going to be late. Naruto quickly dispelled all his clones who were helping him practice a new strategy and ran off towards the Tower. Man he did not like it how he lost track of time. If anything his father wouldn't be too happy about it either since Minato reminded him twice.

* * *

Minato was impatiently waiting for his son to arrive as he looked at the time, 7:13pm. He started tapping his foot to try and calm himself down, but it was futile. Some more time had passed before he heard the door to the office open and Naruto enter.

Naruto had just reached the Tower and ran as fast as he could to his father's office and opened the door. When he did he heard his father chastise him for being late, but none of that mattered because when he looked up his gaze fixated on the other person in the room. They were also fixated on him as he entered and looked annoyed as they've been waiting for nearly half an hour.

* * *

Well that's the end of Part 1. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. I'd like to say that I'm surprised that I've managed to gain a small crop of readers. Honestly I didn't think that would happen for at least two, maybe three months, but maybe that's just me. I also enjoyed reading the comments from last chapter.

I decided to end it here since the next Part is where all the fun happens. As for you guys, you can guess all you want as to who the other person in the room might be (I strongly suggest you guess their name in a review, but I can't force you to, I only ask you to so I can see who guessed who). I didn't mean to leave a cliffhanger, I just ran out of ideas for this half.

*Whistles Innocently*

If I may speak the truth, last chapter I had a serious urge to end it after Sakura's flashback, but decided not to in the end so I could convey Sakura's feelings as well as Hinata's in the end. Honestly more than half that chapter was about Hinata, and I didn't even realize it until I read it after posting the damn thing XD.

 **DarkestLightOfHope** \- When I read your review I thought about the scene in which Naruto lost control, then the scene I wrote and realized you were right. I didn't even mean for it to be similar to that fight, but I laughed a bit from the realization. As for the fight he had with Pain, the first time I watched it I seriously thought he killed Hinata and started crying. And when I got to the part where Naruto found her chakra signature I was so happy, like honestly if Kishimoto killed off my favourite character I would've been pissed (Naruto is also my number 1 favourite character alongside Hinata). Kinda see why I'm a NaruHina fan now right? But anyways that was quite perceptive of you to notice the similarity.

 **SparklingPearl123** \- Yeah that was sad, but it was meant to. My intention was to let you guys get a better feel and understanding of how the characters felt, and I'm hoping that for some of you I managed to make you cry. It just means I'm doing a good job.

 **Like A Pro** \- Haha when I finished reading your review I snickered, because it's partially true. Though Naruto doesn't actually have an alter ego, I've made it so Naruto can willingly let Kurama take control of his body as long as he permits it. So in a sense it is an alter ego. But if he actually did have one it would definitely be creepy, like Yamato 2.0 kind of creepy. Especially with all the sinister smiles he was giving Sakura. And I'd like to point out that I purposefully placed lines and parts where it made it seem like he actually did retain an alter ego to elude to the fact that it was actually Kurama. Even with that I still give you props to having a suspicion/hope of it being Kurama and not some alter ego Sakura created.

As for the whole alter ego/Kurama situation, earlier back in Chapter 4 I originally had this idea to implement a new dangerous and uncontrollable mode for Naruto through Kurama's anger seeping into him. The idea was to have his consciousness be taken over by the immense hate Kurama felt towards Sakura and when that happened his Previous Nine-Tails state would merge with his Nine-Tails Chakra mode to create a dangerous new mode, one which Naruto wouldn't be able to control. The scene itself took place in Naruto's apartment when Minato went to see him. It was suppose to happen when he tried explaining what Sakura did. Thus he'd lose control and walk off in his new mode consumed by hate as his father tried to stop him in his own Chakra mode, but the only thing that would stop him was the mention of his mother and how she wanted him to live a happy life, not one full of hate. That was the only way his father could stop him, since Minato's own mode couldn't amass to Naruto's new level. And while Naruto was transforming into his new mode, Minato was speaking with his half of Kurama trying to figure out what was going on. To describe how I wanted Naruto's mode to look like I'll put it simply. You know how he looks when in his Nine-Tails Chakra mode, well use that and add the fangs and claws with red eyes and cat pupils with the ominous Nine-Tails cloak enveloping him and taking the form of his Sage-mode/Chakra mode look. You know the yellow flames that emanate off of him, yeah, picture that but in the red-orange colour of the Nine-Tails cloak, and then add 4 tails to his appearance that solidified and had red flames emanating off of them (due note he didn't reach full Nine-Tails state/link so there was only four). But in all honesty I eventually thought that it was a bit far fetched since he could already control Kurama's power so I scrapped the idea. Since then I've wanted to bring something new to Naruto that made sense, whether it was an alter ego or something else, yes I actually thought about the idea of an alter ego, but it seemed a bit OoC and well un Naruto-like. So I went with a similar approach to the ego thing but with Kurama acting as that 'alter ego'. Yeah, I had hard a hard time with the decision. I don't know, you guys can tell me what you thought about the whole new mode I was going to do if you like, I personally felt most of you wouldn't accept it. So ultimately I settled with Kurama acting as a second personality, I say settled but really I actually enjoyed writing that little scene and overall it gives a cool new way to portray my story so Yay! Hi five!

But moving on, I come to the topic of Neji. Yes, though I would like to make Neji more affectionate and caring of his friends while still being Neji I thought it was best to keep him focused on Hinata's health and wellbeing for now as it helps with the story. Whether I decide to change his attitude so he's not only kind to her but everyone else is up to you guys. I would like to hear what you would prefer, because honestly I could live with both in my opinion.

And when I was writing the scene at Sasuke's place I was enjoying it because Sakura has never in her life (I think) acted that way and I found it cute, and Sasuke didn't even try to make her move away. Hmmm... I might have to put some thought into that. But speaking of her, even though she has forgiven Naruto, it'll take time before her fear of him is completely gone.

When I was writing Yamato's line where he said "Lord Fourth." at first I put "Lord Seventh." like an idiot because I had Naruto being Hokage stuck in my head XD

Also I'd like to inform all of you that I want to change the name of the story, but don't really have any ideas as to what I should change it to. I encourage you to suggest any names for me as I'll look them over along with any names of my own I may come up with. Who knows your suggested name might be chosen if I feel it fits the story. I'm asking this because I feel I could've done better with the name of the story, and you guys don't have to suggest one if you already like the title. If you do like the title already and think it's great then please tell me and if enough people say so I'll keep it. In all honesty I like the name I have already, but as I said I feel I could do better.

I think that's it for now, if you haven't already moved on to Part 2 I'd like to say thank you again for everything so far. As little as it may be it's nice to know that there are people out there who enjoy reading my story. In the end it helps give me motivation to continue writing more, which I plan to do so for this story for a long time. As always fav, follow, review if you wish. Now on to the next part!


	7. A New Mission Part 2

Haha I'm just putting this out there that I was listening to BLR songs while writing the majority of this chapter, for anyone who knows BLR is. Honestly I was snickering half the time while singing to some of the songs. I also had major writer's block when it came to writing this Chapter, like big time. I managed to get the first part done in six days, the rest of my time frame was "used" to write this one.

 **Disclaimer** **: I don't own Naruto.**

"Talking"

 _"Thoughts"_

* * *

 **Chapter 7: A New Mission Part 2**

* * *

"Hi-Hinata?" Naruto uttered her name.

"N-Naruto-kun." Hinata's eyes widened and then quickly shot towards Minato, who held his hands up and had a crooked smile on his face.

"What is the meaning of this?" Hinata wasn't happy in the slightest to realize she was teamed up with Naruto.

Naruto wasn't happy either as he bore a hole into his father's skull, "Yes Father. I too, would like to know what's going on."

Minato laughed nervously, "Hey hey. Calm down, no need to get feisty. I can explain. I've assigned you two to take on a mission that requires a team to go on and scout an area nearby our forest. It's only a reconnaissance mission so it's not that tough. That is why I paired you two. Your tracking skills along with Naruto's Ninjutsu will make a great combination, even though Naruto is really only needed if the mission goes sideways."

"Why? I can take care of myself." Hinata pouted.

"It's not that I doubt your capabilities as a Ninja, it's just Naruto's Ninjutsu skillset will come in handy if the need arises." Minato clarified.

"And what might that need be?" Naruto questioned with his arms crossed.

Minato choked a bit before answering, "Uh.. It's because the area I'm sending you two in had reports of people going missing, so I need a team to go investigate the area and report back as soon as possible. We don't know how the people in the area have been going missing but keep an eye out as there may be rogue ninja or something who are behind it all. And I'm making you two do it at night since it's better cover for you both, and with Hinata's Byakugan you'll have no trouble seeing."

"If there's a possible chance of encountering ninjas then why not send in Kakashi-Sensei and Captain Yamato. Sensei's tracking skills with his ninja hounds can pinpoint the location and Yamato's Wood Style can come in handy? Not to mention both of them are far more skilled then us in terms of experience." Naruto countered as he wasn't really happy about the situation. Sure he wanted to speak with Hinata, but not so soon. He felt that he should give her some space before trying to speak with her. But no his father had to ruin that plan.

 _"Damn it Naruto just accept the mission already! Why of all the times do you have to become perceptive now?!"_ Minato thought.

"Yes. I normally would send them instead of you two, but I sent them on a more important mission than this one last night, and they won't be back until tomorrow morning." Minato elucidated.

"Ugh. Alright fine, so what exactly are we looking for anyway?" Naruto muttered as he took his seat beside Hinata, who started fidgeting with her fingers when he did. This didn't go unnoticed by Minato who grinned slightly at it. Naruto on the other hand didn't notice.

"Well to be honest I'm not so sure. The reports said that there were no bodies found or any trace of what might have happened, so you're really going in blind. I'm hoping you are able to recover some of the missing people as well as find some clues."

"Great so we have little information to go off of apart from there being supposed reports of missing people who vanished out of thin air. And to top if off we're doing it under the cover of night so my visbility will be reduced." Naruto grumbled as he shifted in his chair.

"That's why Hinata is there. Her Byakugan gives her X-ray vision so she'll be able to see everything as clear as day." Lord Fourth smiled.

"Uh. I-If I may ask, i-is that all t-there is?" Hinata stuttered, causing Naruto to look at her, making her more nervous.

"Yes. That's all there is so you two should head over to area, by the time you get there it'll be night." Minato waved the two off.

When they left he turned his chair around and put his hands behind his head and grinned widely.

 _"There you go son. This little encounter should help you."_

* * *

"Why exactly are we doing this in the first place?" Yamato asked as he shuffled around, uncomfortable in the position he was in.

"Minato-Sensei asked us to do this, and he's the Hokage. Anyways this should be fun, besides he's paying us to do this." Kakashi smiled under his mask.

"I get that he was your teacher at one point so you don't mind doing this, but I have other things to do." Yamato whined.

"Just be quiet and deal with it. We have to wait until our targets are in sight." Kakashi was starting to get annoyed by Yamato's complaints.

Yamato sighed, "Fine."

* * *

Naruto and Hinata were jumping across the forest racing towards their destination as fast as they could. Niether of them wanted to take too long on this mission. By the time they reached the spot the sun was just setting, making the forest look beautiful as the orange rays of sunlight shone through.

"So uh where do we start?" Naruto asked while rubbing the side of his neck.

"I-I don't know." Hinata was just as clueless. They were given little information about the mission, which seemed quite suspicious to her.

"Well I guess we'll just look around the forest and see if we can find any 'missing' people."

Hinata nodded her head in agreement as the two set off to find anything to report back. Both ninja were walking through the forest which seemed awfully quiet, but then again it was nearing dusk and the wildlife is mostly inactive at this time.

For the longest time nothing happened and it just seemed like they were taking a stroll through the forest until they both heard a loud noise from behind them. They went to investigate and cam across a few trees with big claw marks on them. Wood chips were scattered around the ground.

"What could possibly do this?"

"I-It looks like some animal d-did this. But w-which animal I d-don't know." Hinata explained.

"Well whatever animal it was it sure seemed angry." Naruto was running his fingers across one of the claw marks when they heard the noise again.

Both the ninja came to another scene which was similar to the first, but with more claw marks.

"You don't think it's rabid do you?" He asked Hinata.

"It's p-possible."

After checking the surrounding area in which they found the claw marks Hinata and Naruto continued they're investigation. The latter was started to get creeped out because dusk had set in and the thought of a rabid animal on the loose while he had reduced visibility didn't sit too well with him. Further in on their journey, Naruto heard a loud cracking noise behind and spun around as fast as he could ready to attack but saw nothing.

"W-What are you doing?" Hinata had a sideways look.

"Oh, nothing. I just thought I heard something behind me." Naruto quickly went back to walking, his face was tinged red as he was embarrassed.

Along their walk in the forest to find missing people, they both heard loud and creepy noises. An owl cooed in the distance when they found more marked trees. This time blood accompanied them, which caused Naruto to shudder and Hinata to cringe a little.

It seriously put Naruto on edge since there was a bunch of creepy sounds he heard in the forest along with the 'rabid' animal, and now blood.

Hinata knelt down and put her fingers in the blood and noticed there was a trail after examining.

"Naruto-kun, this way." Hinata waved him to follow her.

"Uh Hinata. As much as you're determined to find out what's going on I'd like to go back. I don't like this one bit. I mean claw markings, loud creepy noises, and now blood. Following the trail is the last thing I want to do." Naruto explained his case as he reluctantly followed her while looking around in a scared manner.

"Quit being a baby." Hinata giggled as she continued to follow the trail of blood.

* * *

Sasuke was walking around the Shopping district at night to get any last minute things he might need. That was until Sakura had found him, to which he quickly turned around and started walking away as she called to him.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura shouted as she walked towards him.

He started to jog and eventually run, which Sakura found odd, but chased after him anyways.

Sasuke was running through the streets, turning around every corner in a zigzag pattern hoping to lose the girl in the streets. After a while of running he hid in an alley hoping she hadn't managed to follow him. He lowered his breathing and stood still in the dark alley waiting.

A voice came from behind him, "Sasuke-kun what's wrong?"

Her sudden voice startled Sasuke and he stumbled backwards. "S-Sakura?! What are you doing here? Didn't I make it clear that I'm not going to talk to you until Naruto's problem with Hinata is fixed?"

"Actually the real question is why are you so worried about me following you." Sakura said in a matter-of-fact kind of tone.

"I just told you. I'm not speaking with you until everything has been resolved." Sasuke turned around to walk away.

"Oh really now? So this doesn't have anything to do with me specifically." Sakura purred causing Sasuke to stop walking.

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked in a nonchalant voice.

"Oh I don't know, maybe the fact that you didn't stop me from hiding behind you at your apartment." Sakura giggled.

"That was nothing. I didn't feel like making you move, because Naruto was there and I knew how terrified you were of him." The Uchiha smirked.

"Oh so you do care?" Sakura had an almost seductive grin on her face.

"That's not what I meant and you know it." Sasuke gave her a deadpanned look.

"Oh I know what you meant, but there is a something that doesn't make sense."

"And that is?"

"The fact that you actually thought about how I felt. You've never done that.. EVER." Sakura smiled innocently at the man.

"You're point being?" Sasuke was starting to get annoyed with her.

"What I mean is that you might actually like me, in a sort of sense, now that you're thinking of how I felt at the time. The old you would've cared less." Her smile growing wider.

Sasuke flinched, "Like I'd actually like you." He laughed.

This didn't bother Sakura that much because she knew she was finally getting under his skin.

"How come you haven't left yet? I thought you said you didn't want to speak with me."

Sasuke looked annoyed then turned around to leave, "Because you were distracting me."

Sakura giggled as he walked away.

Sasuke left the alley and looked over his shoulder to glare at the girl when he saw her giggling.

 _"What is up with this woman. She's trying to annoy me this time."_

He made his way back to his apartment and put all the things he bought on the counter then went to the fridge to get a drink. Sasuke sat on his couch and thought about what she said.

 _"What was she trying to get at. I don't like her like that. I've just come to care about my friends, a little bit. It's not like I did it only for her."_ Sasuke scowled at the thought.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK - Start (1 Day ago)**

"So what message do you want me to send and to who?" Neji asked, curious as to why the Hokage came to him.

"I need you give Hinata a message telling her I've assigned her a new mission with another person tomorrow at 7:00pm."

"Why at that time?"

"Because the mission will be done at night and they could use the darkness as cover." Minato explained.

"And what mission is this?" Neji inquired.

"Reconnaissance."

"For?" Neji continued to push for answers.

"Neji it doesn't really matter. All you need to know is that I've assigned her a new mission that she is to be there by 7:00pm tomorrow, and you shall relay this to her. I'm not ordering you to, I'm asking for a favour." Minato put his hands in his lap.

Neji sighed, "Fine. I'll tell Hinata-sama about it. I just wish I knew what it was about."

 **FLASHBACK - End (Present Day)**

Minato was sitting in his chair at the office wondering how the two were doing on their mission. He could probably imagine his son's face while wandering around at night in an area where reported missing people were last seen, though Minato couldn't really judge since Naruto got it from him.

After snickering from the reactions he thought his son would make he reluctantly got back to work. Minato really didn't know how there was so much paperwork. Each day he'd finish the huge piles of paper, then the next morning he would go to work the next morning and see that they have returned.

* * *

Back in the forest, Naruto and Hinata continued to follow the blood trail and came across an unidentifiable corpse. The thing was burnt to a crisp and slashes were all over their body, almost as if they were made by an animal.

Naruto's face went white as he realized this and gulped. "Uh, Hinata. You still think it's not rabid?" He turned to look at her.

Her expression was less scared and more confused, "No. That's definitely a possibility, especially with this."

"But what I don't get is how this body was burned so much, yet the surrounding area is untouched. The same goes with the claw markings there's no blood other than the faint trail we followed. So I guess that would mean they dragged their body here after being attacked then somehow was burned alive, but that part doesn't add up." Hinata was thinking aloud while Naruto was more worried about being ambushed either by a rabid animal or a Pyromaniac.

"Plus, considering the amount of markings the body has there should've been much more blood loss than what we've seen and followed." The more the Hyuuga examined the corpse the less the whole situation made sense.

 _"What doesn't make sense the most is that Hokage-sama had said there was nothing to indicate what had happened. That may be true with the burned body, but not for the markings or blood."_ Hinata thought inwardly.

Shortly after she examined the body some more both Hinata and Naruto heard a loud howl in the distance. The latter's face went even more white and his expression became grim, while the former activated her Byakugan and saw nothing for miles. It was very strange, but didn't bother her much.

When she turned to her teammate he looked like he was going to croak from anxiety.

"N-Naruto-kun? Are you alright?"

Naruto bit back a whimper, "Y-Yeah. I t-think so."

"You sure? You look like you're going to faint." Hinata was worried about her friend's state.

"Yes. I'm sure." Naruto did his best to calm himself down.

After a couple deep breaths Naruto managed to calm himself down to a point where he could think straight without getting too worked up about being in a creepy forest at night all in the name of a mission.

Hinata on the other hand still worried about Naruto. If the mission did go sideways, she felt he was going to be more of a burden than an asset. Not only that, but from his expression he looks like he's having a hard time staying calm. All of this worried Hinata, not only for her sake, but for his as well. She still cared about him and didn't want him getting hurt, though she didn't openly show it.

* * *

"Ok, I am starting to enjoy this." Yamato admitted to his former Captain as they were walking side by side in the dark.

"See. What did I tell you? I had a hunch this was going to be entertaining and I was correct." Kakashi smirked, though Yamato wasn't actually able to see it. All he could see was the glint in Kakashi's eye.

"Yeah yeah, quit boasting. Now let's get back to our mission alright." Yamato asked as more of a request than a demand since The Copy Ninja was still his superior in terms of skill.

"I see someone is eager." The masked man went back to reading his _Icha Icha Paradise_ book, in which Yamato shook his head.

"Do you really need to read that while we're working?"

"What? The mission we've been assigned is essentially a C-rank, when in reality it's actually a D-rank considering the little effort we need to put in." Kaskashi explained as he continued to read his favourite book.

"Yeah, but still. I've seen you with your head stuck in that book more times than I can remember. And honestly I think it's a bit ridiculous at how little you pay attention to everything around you when reading it." Yamato conveyed his point as best as he could.

"Huh? You say something?" Kakashi looked from his book to the Wood Style user, who in turn facepalmed.

"My point exactly." He shook his head in disapproval.

* * *

Sasuke was on his way to Naruto's apartment to talk with him about something as he looked up in the sky and saw it was a full moon.

When he got there Sasuke knocked on the door and waited a while before he knocked again. There was still no answer which he found absurd since the blonde ninja always was up at this time. It was only 9:46pm when he glanced at the watch he had just bought today.

The onyx haired man tried the door and it opened, creaking as he slowly opened it to see all the lights were off. He slowly entered and searched the premises to find his friend, but he wasn't there. Sasuke scratched his head while trying to figure out where he might be other than his place. He'd guess Hinata's, but they're currently no longer friends so she's out of the question. And he wouldn't go to Sakura's knowing she's terrified of him still, not that she would let him in. The Uchiha was at an impasse, as he couldn't think of where Naruto would be.

Thus he left Naruto's place, closed the door behind him and went back to his apartment to sleep since he couldn't find the hyperactive ninja.

* * *

Naruto was walking with extreme caution in his steps as to not step on a twig, for it might scare him half to death at this point. It was a full moon and that only just added to the eerie feel the forest was giving off. He stood very close to Hinata almost having her act as a shield from any danger as they moved through the quiet forest.

"May I ask what has you on edge Naruto-kun?" Hinata looked behind her at the blonde.

"U-Uh. E-Everything about t-this forest has m-me on edge." Naruto stammered as he continued to look around in a paranoid manner.

 _"Of all the things that scares the man it had to the supernatural."_ Hinata mentally sighed. Though she normally wouldn't mind his fear of the occult, she was currently annoyed by it because it was slowing down their search dramatically.

"Naruto-kun, could you please just try and stay calm, and by that I mean be less paranoid so we can finish this investigation sooner rather than later."

"I-I could t-try."

"Thank you."

Her answered prayers were short-lived when they heard another howl this time much closer and accompanied by others. Hinata activated her Byakugan again, and to her dismay saw nothing still. This started to worry her subconscious as they continued moving through the forest after Naruto climbed down the tree he had run up when the howls echoed through the forest.

"S-Sorry Hinata." Naruto said sheepishly.

"It's okay." She said in a reassuring voice.

Naruto calmed down again and this time was walking a bit faster, that was until a low dense mist covered the ground, making it seem like they were in the clouds. The mist creeping in caused Naruto to cringe. Hinata thought she heard him whimper, but passed it off as her imagination for now.

"I-I don't like this o-one bit Hinata." Naruto whined.

"Quit being a baby." She replied.

"B-But this h-has creepy w-written all o-over it." He protested.

"Naruto-kun just deal with it okay. We've been told to do this as a mission."

Naruto opened his mouth to argue then shut it again seeing it was pointless, so instead he slowed his pace. Hinata noticed this and slowed her own.

She slowed more so than his so she was behind him, and a brilliant idea came to her. Hinata slowly and quietly crept up on her friend and abruptly grabbed his shoulders.

She whispered eerily in his ears, "I'm going to take your soul from you."

Naruto's hairs on his body stood up and he ran like hell. Hinata was shocked by his reaction, but quickly ran after him before he disappeared into the woods.

"Wait! Naruto-kun it was just me! There's no need to run!" She shouted after him.

"No! You're evil! You already took Hinata's soul didn't you?!" Naruto shouted, not daring to look back as he was scared out of his mind.

"Wait! C'mon Naruto-kun I was only joking!"

"Lies! You're a demon impersonating Hinata! I will not fall for such trickery!" He closed his eyes hoping it was all just a nightmare, until he hit a tree head-on leaving him in a daze.

Hinata managed to catch up to him and was worried, "Naruto-kun?! Are you alright? You didn't get hurt did you?"

Naruto was seeing stars twirl around as he turned to the Hyuga. He gave a crooked smile as he wobbled to her, "Oh, hey Hinata. I guess this means my soul has been taken already."

She couldn't help herself as she giggled, but quickly regained her composure and slapped him in the face to knock some sense into him.

"Ow! What was that for?!" Naruto rubbed his red cheek.

"S-Sorry Naruto-kun. I-It's just.. I couldn't r-really think of any other w-way to snap you out o-of your daze." She stammered looking away, both embarrassed and sorry.

"It's okay. I actually thought you were taken. I was both worried and scared, so I ran." Naruto confessed in a sheepish voice.

Hinata's face turned pink, "Why? Did the thought of losing me worry you?" She asked teasingly, feeling bold for once.

It was Naruto's turn to blush lightly as he looked away, "Uh, y-yes it did."

"O-Oh.." Hinata just stood there for a while processing what she just heard before dragging her friend again.

She took him by the collar and nearly dragged him further into the forest while he complained. Whilst she was doing that Hinata had been blushing from Naruto's answer.

 _"No. No. No. He doesn't mean it. He's just being nice, nothing more."_ Hinata was too busy fighting her feelings to hear Naruto.

"U-Uhh.. Hinata y-you might want to s-stop." Naruto stammered as he looked ahead of them.

"Hinata! Stop! Please stop!" Naruto shouted as Hinata continued to walk lost in her thoughts, not noticing the eerie figure that appeared in the distance. It was an Ancient Samurai who held two Katanas that were imbued with something that made them glow yellow.

She abruptly stopped and turned around making Naruto bump into and let out a sigh of relief before he went back to his scared demeanour.

"What?" Hinata looked at Naruto who was trembling with fear as the Samurai started walking towards them digging his Katanas into the ground.

"Hey? What happened to my strong and courageous Naruto-kun?" Hinata teased.

 _"Damn it Hinata! Quit it. I don't want to flirt with him! Why am I so conflicted?!"_ Hinata silently cursed herself before she saw Naruto raise his finger and point behind her.

"He's about to shrivel up and die." Naruto squeaked with a pale face.

She followed the direction at which he was looking and saw the Samurai for the first time. This encounter was new to her and she activated her Byakugan, but the Samurai didn't appear in her field of view.

Naruto turned to run when his foot got caught on a root, which wrapped itself around his ankle.

He gulped, "H-H-Hinata? Could I get some help?"

Hinata turned around to see her friend struggling to get his foot loose from a root when she saw a separate root slither up to him and grab him.

Naruto screamed like a little girl as he was being dragged away by something that had his foot.

"No! No! No! I won't let you take me!" He screamed as he dug his nails into the ground. His attempt only resulted in his nails bleeding as he was dragged away.

The next second the Samurai had cut the root that had Naruto.

"T-T-Thank y-" Naruto tried thanking the figure before it knocked him out. The Samurai picked the blonde man up and put him over his shoulder.

Hinata had watched the entire thing in utter shock when she came back to reality.

She couldn't activate her Byakugan because the figure didn't appear in her field of view when she did so she had to fight him without it. She ran towards the Samurai and started attacking him, but he managed to block all of her attacks while still carrying Naruto.

"N-Naruto-kun! Wake up! Please!" Hinata begged the unconscious Ninja.

While she was trying to land hit on the Samurai she heard a deep voice speak.

"Ugh, Fine. If he's not awake I'll help I guess." Naruto elbowed the Samurai causing the figure to drop him.

Hinata looked at Naruto and was taken aback by his new appearance. His pupils became cat-like eyes while his eye colour was red instead of blue. He now had fangs and grew claws from his nails.

"N-Naruto-kun? What h-happened to y-you?" She asked in a meek tone. His appearance sent chills down her spine as he was emanating this dark aurora which was clearly visible.

"I'm fine. Now how bout we focus on our current enemy." Kurama lied about being his jailor. He knew Naruto wouldn't want Hinata to know that Kurama could replace him if granted or need be.

"O-Okay."

The Samurai laughed sadistically as he unsheathed his second Katana which he put away so he could carry Naruto.

"I'm going to enjoy tearing you to shreds."

"You took the words right out of my mouth." Kurama smirked. He appeared behind the Samurai and hit him, sending the figure crashing through dozens of trees.

Hinata was in shock from Naruto. One second he was beside her and the next behind their target. And the punch was something she would've expected from Tsunade or Sakura, not Naruto.

"A-Are you s-sure you're o-okay?" Hinata questioned again.

"Never been better." Kurama tried smiling innocently.

The next moment Kurama was gone in a flash. He was running on all-fours in the direction where he hit the Samurai at a speed too fast for Hinata to see normally.

Hinata didn't really know where Naruto went but assumed it was to the Samurai so she made her to him too.

When she got there she saw Naruto beating their target. It looked like he was playing with them, enjoying the fight.

Kurama grabbed the Samurai's collar, lifted him over his head and threw him on the ground. Naruto stepped on the figure's arm and applied pressure until he heard a crack to which he smiled sadistically.

Hinata flinched slightly from hearing the crack.

Kurama then picked the figure up by the throat and looked at him before throwing the Samurai against cliff wall they were near.

Kurama chuckled lightly, "You're too easy of a target. Are you sure you can survive my wrath?"

The Samurai was struggling to get up when Kurama appeared in front of him. The Fox-Demon punched him causing the ground to crack under pressure and then continued to hit him some more. Kurama was merciless.

Hinata watched in terror as the love of her life beat the life out of the Samurai. When she looked at his expression it looked like Naruto was deeply enjoying this.

"Naruto-kun! Please stop it!" She pleaded as tears ran down her face. This wasn't the man she fell in love with, she refused to believe it.

Hinata activated her Byakugan and saw a different Chakra than Naruto's. She's seen it before but couldn't recall whose it was.

Kurama was abruptly stopped as he felt Naruto regain consciousness and switched places. Naruto appeared next to Hinata and took hold of her and flashed out of the forest in his Nine-Tails Chakra mode.

 _"What the hell were you doing Kurama?!"_ Naruto shouted in his mind.

 ** _"Listen kid. Your girlfriend was crying for help as she was trying to save you, since someone couldn't handle themselves. Honestly, why are you so scared of 'ghosts?'" Kurama explained._**

 _"Did you ask if you could show yourself?! No! And what the hell do you mean my girlfriend?!"_

 _ **"I couldn't really ask since you were unconscious." He ignored Naruto's second question.**_

 _"Did even try to wake me up?" Naruto asked._

 ** _"Nope. I thought I should have some fun since it was cut short last time." Kurama replied in a nonchalant voice._**

Naruto reappeared in the Village with Hinata in his arms, who he let down.

 _"Never do that again!"_ Naruto was furious with Kurama.

Once Naruto let Hinata go she backed away and looked at him when he deactivated his Chakra mode. He looked normal again. He no longer had claws, fangs, or red cat-like eyes. And most importantly that dark aurora that was emanating off him was gone too.

"N-Naruto-kun?! W-W-What happened t-to you?"

"Nothing happened to me. I'm fine, never felt better." He lied hoping she would buy it.

"N-No there's s-s-something definitely w-wrong with y-y-you." She stammered, unable to hold back her tears.

 _"What happened to you. What made you like this?"_

"Hey, hey. Why are you crying?" Naruto pulled her in and began stroking her hair before she could move away.

Hinata didn't want to be near him after seeing what he did, but he got hold of her. Shortly after though she melted into his arms enjoying the embrace, especially since he was stroking her hair.

"Naruto-kun? Why are you holding me?" Hinata asked while she had her face in his chest.

"W-What? I can't comfort my best friend now? Fine I'll let go." Naruto was about to let go when Hinata answered.

"No! Don't... let go. I don't mind you hugging me. I'm just..." She trailed off as she fell asleep, tired from their journey.

 _"Huh. Guess our mission wore her out."_ Naruto thought as he picked her up bridle style.

 ** _"Hey kid, looks like she's no longer fainting on you. In fact she fell asleep in your arms." Kurama teased._**

Naruto's face turned slightly red from Kurama's comment.

 _"Your point being?"_

 ** _"Meaning you can finally rebuild your 'friendship' with her now."_**

 _"I can't argue with that."_ Naruto started walking to his apartment with the dark blue haired girl in his arms.

As he walked there Naruto couldn't help but stare at the Hyuga in his hands, she was so beautiful to him. He still couldn't explain his new emotions, but they were so prominent and persistent that he could barely ignore them. Naruto wanted to understand what he was feeling, or more specifically needed to know these feelings. They stirred up so much emotion inside of him. He had butterflies, a warm feeling chest, and most of all an uncontrollable heartbeat.

When he reached his apartment he opened the door and walked into his room and set Hinata down on the bed. Naruto took out a clean blanket and put it over her then went to crash on his couch.

 ** _"I'm not usually the one to ask such things, but shouldn't you report this to your father? Especially after that encounter?" Kurama asked questioningly._**

 _"Nah, I'm beat. I'll do the mission report tomorrow."_ Thus Naruto fell asleep.

* * *

In the distance there was a young man, who looked like they were a couple years older than Naruto despite having white hair. He wore a white robe with a faded green sash across his chest. He was grinning with his eyes closed.

"This is a minor setback, but I will have what I want... all in due time." The man thought aloud as he stood atop the Hokage Monument. With that he disappeared in the night.

* * *

Okay so this chapter is a bit shorter. Honestly having a shorter chapter is better than me trying to stretch it out to reach my designated goal, which is usually 8-9k words. But I got all the points down, so there was no point in trying to fill the chapter up with non-sense. I would also like to tell you all that I originally had the name of the Chapters as "The Haunted Forest Part 1 and 2" instead of "A New Mission Part 1 and 2," but I felt it would give away my story so I changed it.

There must be a lot of questions that were raised during this two part chapter. The scenes with Kakashi and Yamato were not put in there on a whim. They're roll to this whole scene will be explained in due time. I'd like to see who could guess what they were doing.

I'd also give props to whoever can guess who or what the Samurai was. And I hope some of you guys who've watched the anime can guess who the man at the end of the chapter was.

I enjoyed writing the little end bit when Hinata started crying and Naruto comforted her, to which she couldn't resist and melted.

Uh, what else, I'm blanking right now... Oh right, the whole responding to your posts will continue on. I originally got the idea from UltimateUnknown, who by the way is a great writer and I have huge respect for him so I took the idea. I think it's a great way to interact with the readers so I'll being doing that.

About Sasuke and Sakura. I like the pairing, and will elaborate on that throughout the story. I find it funny when Sasuke becomes flustered about something. I will admit I did do his scenes on a whim in this chapter but it will become a part of the story and show him "open" up. Obviously in a Sasuke kind of way.

 **Edit** : Oh right, hope you guys have a happy Halloween. Haha, I managed to find some time tomorrow to go myself. I'm gonna be a Purger, I'll be wearing my suit I bought earlier this year with a creepy ass mask I bought last year. Afterwards I'm going to see if I can hit up a party XD

Hopefully within a few months I will be able to share something new with you guys. Until then I hope you guys are enjoying the story. As always fav, follow, and review if you wish. Peace!


	8. The Past (Uchiha Massacre)

Hello my peeps. I'm back with the latest chapter. This one is, well... the title should tell what it's about. This time it's paraphrased. It's based off a scene from the anime. But even if it's changed up and different, I still don't own the general idea. Before you read, I'd also like to mention that I've noticed whenever I update the story with a new chapter, sometimes it'll delete words from it. Because I'll be reading along and notice words that have gone missing, which were there before I uploaded the chapter. I don't know what's causing it, but it annoys me. Anyways, enjoy!

"Talking"

 _"Thoughts"_

* * *

 **Chapter 8: The Past (Uchiha Massacre)**

* * *

The sky was a bright blue with the sun shining high above the Village, accompanied by a chilly breeze, marking winter's soon-to-be arrival. Naruto was finally able to get some sleep for once. His encounter with Hinata on that mission went well, apart from his embarrassment.

He was laying on his couch looking at the ceiling when a smile crossed his face. _"So, she's finally opened up somewhat."_

Naruto got up from his bed and went make some food.

 ** _"Again, I'm not normally the one to ask such things, but shouldn't you seriously report that encounter last night?" Kurama asked once again._**

 _"Yeah, yeah. I'll get to that soon, just let me eat some food before starting the day."_

 ** _"Kid, it's almost noon. You've been sleeping all day."_**

 _"For your information Kurama, I haven't been able to sleep properly for the past three weeks. Last night was the first night I actually slept well,"_ Naruto's face went pale when he just remembered that Hinata was in his bed still.

"Crap, how could I forget that I brought her here last night?!" Naruto whispered as he ran to his room.

When he opened the door quietly, he saw Hinata fast asleep in his bed with her mouth slightly open.

She looked beautiful, and it made his chest flutter from seeing her this peaceful.

 _"Damn it Naruto! What are these feelings?" He cursed himself as he shut the door and went to make some more food._

Naruto made a vegetable omelet with some apple juice, toast, and a side of bacon. He then quietly opened his bedroom door and walked in with the tray of food and placed it on his bed side counter.

The smell of the food entering the room caused Hinata to flutter her eyes open to see a blonde ninja smiling at her.

Hinata's face turned red and she quickly pulled the sheets over her head, "N-Naruto-kun, w-w-what are y-you doing i-in my r-r-room?"

Naruto laughed, "What do you mean your room? This is my room, ya know!"

Hinata slowly peeled the covers revealing her face as she examined the room she was in. When the realization dawned on her face she turned red again.

"H-How come I-I'm in your a-a-apartment?" Hinata nervously asked as she covered her face with the sheets again.

"Well, after our mission, which was cut short, you fell asleep in my arms and I brought you back here, since I didn't want to walk all the way to your place before I went to mine," Naruto explained while he rubbed his chin.

"Why, is that a bad thing?" Naruto inquired.

Hinata didn't speak, but he could see her shake her head side to side under the covers.

"You just didn't expect me to bring you here, is that it?"

She still didn't speak, but instead nodded under Naruto's sheets.

"Why? What's the big deal? You've slept over at my apartment before."

This time Hinata didn't answer, to which the blonde sighed, "Fine, you don't have to tell me, but at least eat up. You looked exhausted last night, so I made some breakfast for you."

He got up from beside the bed and went for the door when he turned around to look at Hinata, who was still under his blanket. Naruto shook his head before he left, slightly disappointed that she wouldn't talk much.

Hinata heard the door close before she slowly peeled the blankets off her face again to check and see if the coast was clear. When it was, she turned to look at the food beside the bed, it looked so good to her. She was starving, so she quickly got up from the bed and started eating her breakfast.

Afterwards, she got up and went outside the room, feeling a little better. When she opened the door she saw Naruto watching some television. He was too busy paying attention to the show, so she felt a little mischievous and snuck up on him.

Hinata then moved her face near his ear and said, "Boo!"

Naruto jumped from his seat and disappeared in a poof of smoke, to which Hinata started giggling uncontrollably, thinking she scared him off. That's when she felt a presence behind her.

"Ahem, why did you scare him?"

The Hyuga girl turned around to see Naruto standing above her with a straight face.

Hinata was confused and looked between where Naruto was and where he was now, "N-Naruto-kun? How did you-" she trailed off as she saw him grin.

"What? How was I there just a second ago, and now here?" He raised an eyebrow, still grinning.

"Yes!"

"If you must know, that was a shadow clone. I thought I'd multi-task," Naruto explained.

"What do you mean multi-task? What else were you doing?" Hinata looked a bit confused now.

"I was at the Hokage Tower filing a report on our mission. I told my father about the clues we found, along with the encounter with that Samurai."

"Why didn't you send the clone to do that? I mean, even I would do that if I were to multi-task," Hinata questioned.

"Well, I felt I should personally report to him since that was quite the mission it turned out to be, and well... I let one my clones watch my favourite show so I wouldn't miss an episode."

 _"Thought I'd be nice and give one of them a break from being summoned to do my work,"_ Naruto thought inwardly.

 ** _"Yes, because that makes a huge difference if you do," Kurama commented sarcastically as he put emphasis on the word 'huge'._**

 _"Listen here Fox, I mainly did it so I could still watch my show at the same time, and as an added bonus a clone got to have some fun for once,"_ Naruto pouted.

"Naruto-kun, are you alright? You seem upset all of the sudden," Hinata asked as she moved closer to check on him.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I just was thinking of something."

 ** _"Hey! Don't call me 'something,' I'm a being too you know!" Kurama growled._**

 _"Actually, you're a Demon. You're barely considered a being, but a monster instead. . . But even so, I still love ya foxy," Naruto stuck his tongue out at the demon in his mind._

 ** _The Fox scrunched his face up, "Never call me that again."_**

 _"Why, does it bother you?" Naruto snickered._

 ** _Kurama turned his face to the side, "No. Just, just leave will you."_**

Hinata was staring at Naruto who seemed lost in thought at the moment as she waved her hand in front of him. "Earth to Naruto-kun, are you in there?"

She even snapped her fingers a couple of times before he snapped out of his apparent trance. "Hey, sorry Hinata. I was just lost in thought."

"Clearly," she replied with her arms crossed.

"What? I can't think once in a while," Naruto complained.

"No, you can, it's just we were in the middle of a conversation when you went into dreamworld."

"Oh right, where were we again?" He asked trying to recollect what he told her.

"The part where you personally saw Hokage-sama to report the mission," Hinata answered as she rolled her eyes while smiling. She secretly enjoyed seeing him confused like this.

"Oh yes. I told my father about the mission and he said that he'll set up a team of ANBU to investigate further. He also said that we should no longer worry about it, since it's being handled. And as an added bonus we got a pay raise for the job, since it turned out to be an A-rank mission," Naruto grinned at the last part as he pulled out two medium sized pouches with coins in them.

He tossed one to Hinata, who stashed it in her ninja tool pouch.

"So, what do we do now?" Naruto asked.

"Not we, you. I'm going home to shower," Hinata started for the door when Naruto gently grabbed her arm.

"Wait, why can't we hang out? We're best friends aren't we?" Naruto pleaded.

Hinata looked into his sapphire eyes, and the memories of Sakura telling her a jumbled up mess of information flashed through her mind. "I-I don't know. M-Maybe, but n-n-not today Naruto-kun."

"But, we're still best friends right, Hinata?" His eyes were pleading her to say yes as she stared at him.

"I honestly don't know anymore. I-I need time to think, okay," she replied earnestly.

Naruto's head dropped slightly at her answer, "Yeah, I understand. I'll give you your space."

Naruto let go of her arm and started to turn around. She didn't like his expression, and felt the urge to reassure him, so she grabbed his chin and made him face her.

"Hey, it should be alright. Maybe one day we can hang out like we used to, but. . . for now I need time to think, okay. I'm still your best friend, I'm just busy trying to sort things out in my mind," she said in her comforting voice.

Naruto started to tear up, "B-But, look at us. We haven't spoken to each other in weeks and I-I feel like I'm losing my mind, but I don't know why. The silence between us is killing me. You won't tell me why you're avoiding me, and your cousin Neji hates m-my guts again. I can't visit you because he banned me from the compound and and and and," he started hyperventilating.

Hinata saw how distraught he was and it hurt her to the very core to see him this sad. So she pulled him into a hug and held his head as it rested on her shoulder, "Hey, hey. Calm down. Please don't cry. It'll be alright, I promise. I'm here, no need to worry. Everything will be alright. Just, be patient with me. I really need my space to clear things up before I decide on what to do next okay. I don't know, maybe we can talk later. You know, catch each other up our lives."

Her soothing voice as she stroked his hair calmed Naruto down while he rested his head on her shoulder. "You promise? I'll be able to see you in a few days?" He questioned while he held onto her tightly, not wanting to let go.

Hinata hugged him back with one arm around him as she continued to stroke the blonde's hair, "I promise."

He finally let go and wiped his tears away, "Then I'll see you in a few days," Naruto smiled.

"Yes, you will. Now I can leave right? You're not going to break down again?" Hinata asked skeptically.

The blonde took a deep breath, "Yes, you can leave now. I don't want to keep you waiting any longer. Now go and figure out whatever it is you're going to do."

Naruto waved Hinata good-bye before he shut the door and went into his room to collect the dishes and clean the place up.

* * *

Hinata was napping on her bed thinking of what Sakura had said.

 _"S-Sakura?! What are y-" Hinata was cut off as Sakura tried jumping into the room, but caught her foot on the window sill causing her to fall on Hinata._

 _The impact caused a loud crash to which Sakura started to panic. This was suppose to be easy, but she just ruined it._

 _"Hinata, calm down. I'm here to tell you the truth. What happened that night was not real. Naruto didn't willingly do it. Sasuke was mean and my jealousy got in the way, and Naruto got caught in the mix, with me kissing him. It's all my fault, I should've never even been there. I swear on my life Hinata that Naruto didn't want that," Sakura blurted out as fast as she could._

 _She took a short breath before she spoke again, "He, he was caught in the crossfire. Just trust me, Sasuke and I were having a dispute and Narut-" Sakura voice was drowned out as the door to Hinata's room flew open and crashed against the wall._

 _Hinata turned to see Neji walk up to them and pull Sakura off of her, "I thought I made it clear that you can't speak with Hinata-sama."_

 _He started dragging the pink haired girl out the room by the collar as he scolded her. Hinata's eyes widened as she caught a glimpse of Naruto peeking into the room. When she met his eyes she could see sorrow and loneliness._

 _Neji walked out of the room and took Naruto by the collar too and started for the gate. All Hinata could hear was Neji shouting at the two 'intruders' and both of them complaining._

 _She had a mix of emotions. The initial and most prominent one was shock, she couldn't believe that Naruto and Sakura had broken into the compound. And what Sakura said made little sense to her._

 _The second emotion she was feeling was relief, both from seeing Sakura and Neji removing her from Hinata's room. Also from seeing Naruto, but that relief faded when Hinata saw his expression._

 _Other emotions she felt was regret and sorrow. She regretted not speaking to Naruto and Sakura sooner, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She was scared of seeing them together as a 'couple.' And Hinata felt sorrow because the loss of her friendship with Naruto, he always made her day, always. But that was gone and she couldn't handle it. To add insult to injury she lost him because of her 'friend' Sakura, who had always supported her in trying to confess to Naruto;_ w _ho just told her information that contradicts what Hinata thought the situation was._

 _The last emotion she was feeling was happiness from seeing Sakura and Naruto dragged away by Neji, who had a straight face, but was angry. It made her giggle on the inside._

 _To add to the silliness was that she could hear Naruto complaining like crazy as she got up to look out her window._

 _She was standing in front of her window and watched Neji throw the two ninja out and announce that they're banned from the compound. This made Hinata frown slightly, as she felt they didn't really deserve that. But the thought was quickly discarded as Hinata's mind went back to what Sakura said._

 _'What does she mean Naruto was caught in the crossfire?'_

Hinata woke up from her nap and sat on her bed with her legs crossed while she thought back to Naruto's state when she left.

 _"He was actually crying. Naruto-kun really looked hurt by the whole situation. It makes me think that he really isn't in a relationship with Sakura. And what she said made no sense. Something about Sasuke, and her kissing Naruto for payback. Payback for what though? And why did Naruto allow it? Did he like it or was he shocked? No I don't think he liked it, he ran after me. If he did, he would've stayed with her and continued. But. . . what is with the whole situation about Sasuke and Sakura, are they dating or something and Sakura got jealous?"_ Hinata was racking her brain to try and figure out what was really going on between the two, well apparently three. It seemed like it was about jealousy, but who was jealous of who?

 _Sakura had told me she was jealous and kissed Naruto, and I believed she said it was to get revenge, then said something about Sasuke. Was she getting revenge on Naruto, if so, revenge for what? And what's with Sasuke, Sakura said something about him being mean and then being surrounded by girls. Was Sakura jealous of him? Grr this is hurting my brain! Stop it, stop it. Calm down Hinata, breathe. Just leave the subject for now, you don't need to figure it out right away. Besides you can get some answers from Naruto when you go to talk to him in a few days."_

Hinata climbed off her bed at last. One thing was for sure, she was no longer having nightmares or bed sweats. No more mind torturing games at night or memories gone horrifically wrong. She no longer tossed and turned. Hinata could finally sleep peacefully again as she did last night.

She went to take a shower then put on sweatpants with a purple sweatshirt. Hinata put her hair in a ponytail and left the compound.

She couldn't sit idly by, because what Sakura told her has got her mind in a twist, and her hopes up. Hinata needed someone to talk to, to help her try and clear some things up before she spoke to Naruto. Her first choice besides Sakura was Ino. If something was going on, Ino would be one of the first people to know, and man was she such a gossip. It was like she lived off of it. Thankfully in this case it would be helpful to Hinata.

Hinata made her way to the flower shop where she found Inoichi at the front counter.

"Welcome, how are you Hinata? What would you like to get today?" Inoichi greeted her.

"I'm fine, thank you for asking, but I'm not here to buy flowers today. I'm here to speak with Ino. Do you know if she's here, or where I might find her?" Hinata asked.

The man rubbed his chin, "Hmm.. She's not here at the shop right now, but I do believe she's with Choji and Shikamaru. As to where they are, I do not know."

Hinata sighed slightly, "I should be able to find them. Thanks for the help."

Hinata waved goodbye and started looking for the trio. Normally they'd be training in the woods, or at Choji's favourite Barbecue restaurant. Hinata decided to check the restaurant before she headed out into the woods.

The closer she got to the Barbecue the more the delicious smell of seared steak was present. When she entered she could hear someone chowing down on their food.

"Thanks for the food!" Choji said before digging in. He took his chopsticks and used them to pick up more than half of the food that was currently cooking on the grill and ate it.

"Choji! Save some for me, I put most of that food on the grill!" Ino whined.

Choji ignored her and continued eating his food, stuffing his mouth, which angered Ino more.

Shikamaru sat across from the two and sighed as he watched his two teammates fight over the food.

"Shikamaru! Tell Choji to share, he's hogging all the food!"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes, "Choji, you should lower you intake of food. It isn't good for your health."

Choji finished stuffing his face before repling, "Why? It doesn't matter how much I eat, I can handle it. That's why I have such a big appetite."

"Well, I tried."

Ino growled at Shikamaru, "You call that trying?! You barely even scolded him. Grr why am I surrounded by idiots."

Hinata watched the whole thing as she walked up to them.

"Uh, h-hi guys."

All three of them looked up to see Hinata.

"Hey Hinata," Shikamaru and Choji greeted her.

"Bunny, what are you doing here? Don't you have somewhere to be?" Ino asked.

"Actually I don't have anything today, so I came by your shop to speak with you, but your father told me you were out somewhere."

"Oh, what did you want to talk about?" Ino asked as she wacked Choji's hand away from a piece of steak she cooked.

"Hey, I'm hungry. I want more steak."

"Choji, you've already had more food than a whole squad could eat!" Ino chastised.

"Anyways, what was it you wanted to say?" Ino asked as she ate her food.

"Well, I uh, was hoping we could speak outside," Hinata said meekly.

"Why?"

"It's about Naruto-kun and I," Hinata averted her gaze.

"Ooo, for what?" Ino squealed.

"I think you know what," Hinata said.

Shikamaru knew what they were talking about, Ino told him about the situation when it first occurred. He thought it was too much work.

"Troublesome," Shikamaru said as he looked out the window.

"Alright Shikamaru, make sure Choji saves some for me," Ino asked.

"I'll try to."

After he answered, Ino got up and went outside the restaurant with Hinata, leaving Choji and Shikamaru alone.

"Choji, please try to save some for Ino or she'll bite my head off when she comes back," Shikamaru lazily asked as he rested his head on his hand.

"I can't make any promises," Choji replied as he stuffed his face with food.

"Good enough for me," the Nara closed his eyes and dozed off.

* * *

"So what exactly did you want to talk about?" Ino asked as she crossed her arms, slightly amused by Hinata's nervous state on the subject.

Hinata was busy averting her gaze and twiddling with her thumbs. "I-I, uh, wanted to a-ask you about N-Naruto-kun."

"About the whole incident at Ichiraku's?" Ino had the slightest grin.

"Y-Yes," Hinata replied.

"Which part do you want to know?"

"Um, the part where t-they kissed. I-I was wondering i-if they're..." Hinata trailed off.

"Dating?" Ino finished her sentence.

"Yes! Do you know if they are?" Hinata inquired.

"No, they're not dating. Turns out it was a stunt to get payback on Sasuke," Ino answered while checking her nails.

"W-What do you mean a s-stunt? Did Naruto-kun help willingly?"

"Sakura and Sasuke had a fight earlier that day, and Sakura spotted Sasuke near Naruto, so she went to 'accompany' Naruto and watch over Sasuke. Then she saw Sasuke speaking to a bunch of girls. This angered Sakura, causing her to use Naruto to try and make Sasuke jealous," Ino explained.

"What d-do you mean she u-used him? You mean she kissed him on purpose to try make Sasuke jealous? Was he even watching?" Hinata asked.

"Yes Bunny, she did kiss him on purpose. But Naruto didn't like it and was very unhappy when she continued to, that's when you walked in. After that little fiasco, Naruto has been angry with Sakura ever since. He blames her for ruining your friendship with him," Ino explained nonchalantly.

Ino then leaned closer to the Hyuga girl and whispered, "And if I may share a little secret, he's just not the same without you in his life," Ino smirked at the last comment she made. Hinata started blushing wildly.

"W-What do you mean he's not the same without me?!" Hinata asked as she tried hiding her embarrassment.

"That's for me to know, and you to find out. I really want to tell you, but I think it's best I let Naruto," Ino laughed.

"But-"

"No buts. Just go ask the guy what's going on? Or are you too scared to Bunny?" Ino teased.

"I-I'm n-not s-s-scared!" Hinata stammered while concealing her blush.

"Then why haven't you asked him yourself? Instead you came to me for information, why was that?"

"I, uh, wanted to get to know the situation from a non-biased viewpoint before I asked him. You know, to tell if he's speaking the truth or not when I do ask," Hinata explained.

"We both know that's a lie. You're just too scared to ask him, because he's your one and only," Ino teased as she wiggled around while hugging herself, speaking in a lovey-dovey voice.

Hinata coiled up in embarrassment, "I-I don't k-know w-w-what you're t-talking about."

"Sure. What ever you say Bunny. Just try to talk to the poor guy soon. I don't even want to see what happens if he loses heart. Even I've grown accustomed to his hyperactive attitude, so seeing him like this is disheartening," Ino replied.

"What do you mean Naruto-kun might lose heart?" Hinata asked.

"To be honest, I don't really know. He... just seems broken beyond repair most days, he tries to hide it but it's clear as day. Some part of him was ripped out that night, and hasn't been the same since then. Heck I don't even think the poor guy knows what's going on in his head."

"But anyways, you should really ask him soon," Ino encouraged her.

"O-Okay, I was going to in a few days, after I straightened things out," Hinata said, "Thanks for the help Ino."

"No problem Bunny," Ino smiled as she hugged the Hyuga and waved goodbye before she went back inside.

As Hinata left she could hear Ino yelling at Shikamaru. She guessed it was because he didn't stop Choji from eating all the food.

* * *

Sasuke was currently sitting on his couch thinking as he ran his fingers through his onyx hair.

 _"It... It was all a lie. Why did it have to be this way? Why couldn't he have told me. He could've said something to stop me from killing him. He could've,"_ Sasuke started to pull his hair as he tortured himself. He continued to for a while before he heard a knock on the door.

"One second," He called out as he got up to answer the door. When he did, he saw Hinata standing in front of him seeming very nervous and possibly afraid.

"H-Hi Sasuke-"

Sasuke shut the door and started walking away, he didn't want to have to explain anything. It was irritating and boring effort.

"Wait! Sasuke, please let me ask a few questions. I won't take up too much of your time, I promise," Hinata asked from behind the door.

Sasuke sighed as he pinched his nose bridge.

"Fine," he mumbled.

He went back to the door and opened it slightly.

"Now before you ask, I'll tell you. Naruto and Sakura are not dating. Naruto is still clueless and Sakura is still chasing after me. She kissed him to try and make me jealous, which did not work. In the end it only ruined your friendship with Naruto and he's been broken since. So much so that he. . . nevermind. Did that answer your questions?" Sasuke inquired.

Hinata stood in front of Sasuke's door in shock. She was wondering how he knew that she came here to talk about Naruto and Sakura. All Hinata could do was nod slightly.

"Good, now leave," Sasuke said before shutting his door again.

As he walked back to the couch he could hear Hinata's muffled voice from behind the door.

"Thank you Sasuke. . . It means a lot to me," Hinata thanked him before she turned around to leave, with the slightest of smiles on her face. She also was feeling a little more confident, making the meeting with Naruto in a couple days less dreadful.

Sasuke went to lay down on his bed hoping to settle his mind. All he could think about was his brother, Itachi.

 **Flashback - Start (10 years ago)**

"Minato, where are you going? The Village is in no condition for you to leave it. The Uchiha are not happy with the way they're being treated," Hurizen stated calmly, as he blew smoke from his pipe.

Minato rubbed the back of his neck with his right hand and smiled awkwardly with his eyes closed, "Ahaha, yes I know, Lord Hurizen. But it's just a quick trip to see Master Jiraiya and Pa. I haven't seen them in a while since Master Jiraiya left to continue his training as a Sage. He likes to maintain his current level. The reason I'm going there is to bring Master Jiraiya back to help with this problem, he's fairly political. . ." Minato paused for bit, "When he's being serious. And I believe he could help me calm the Uchiha Clan down, long enough for me to implement new rules and regulations that will help satisfy them."

Minato got up from his chair and bowed, "I know I don't need to ask, but will you please make sure that nothing happens while I'm gone? Keep both the Village Elders and Uchiha under control until I come back with Jiraiya-Sensei."

Hurizen tapped his pipe against his chin, thinking, "You are right about not having to ask. I am more than willing to help out wherever I can. I'll resume the position of Hokage in your absence and do my best keep the Village from breaking out in a war."

Minato looked up as he let out a sigh of relief, "Thank you, Lord Third."

"But. . . I cannot promise things won't spiral out of control. I can only do so much to stall for time, so do come back as soon as you can," Hurizen warned.

"Hai. I intend to. I want this problem to be resolved in a peaceful manner, not one with violence," Minato gave a resolute answer before he bowed and left the office to his former superior.

Minato went straight to his house to pack up for the trip to Mount Myuboku. When he arrived, he saw Naruto watching television.

Naruto immediately smiled awkwardly, "Ohayo, Dad."

Minato closed the front door, "Shouldn't you be in bed? It's still dark out, not to mention, it's a little early to being saying that."

Naruto looked at the clock on the wall, it read 1:04am. He laughed nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck, "Yeah, about that. I couldn't sleep, so I came out here to watch some television."

Minato was surprised, "Oh, really? You usually have no problem sleeping. In fact, you're the heaviest sleeper I know. It's quite astonishing at how much you sleep. You're instructor tells me you usually end up sleeping half the class."

Naruto pouted as he puffed his cheeks and crossed his arms, "That's because class is boring."

"You'll never become Hokage if you don't study in class. You need to know the fundamentals. It's what gives Ninja the knowledge to act and think accordingly when faced with tough decisions," Minato explained as he sat down beside his son.

"Yeah but, the stuff Iruka-Sensei teaches in class bores me to death. I want to be outside training on my Ninja skills rather than listen some lame lecture," Naruto complained.

"I see. Nevermind that for now, but tell me, what is keeping you up so late?" Minato looked at his son.

Naruto's expression changed to a sad one, "I-It's nothing. I just wasn't able to sleep for some reason."

"Are you sure? It's not normal for you to be like this. You're always so cheerful, something must be bothering you," Minato smiled as he ruffled his son's hair.

"No, I promise I'm fine. Just not tired tonight," Naruto insisted. His gaze shifted to a photo of his mother as a child.

"Well, alright. But you should get some sleep at least. You do have to go to the academy today, right?"

"Yeah, we're learning about some of the Village's history today. I'm not really excited to be honest, mainly because it's schoolwork," Naruto explained.

"Okay. Just try to study for once Naruto, it won't kill you," Minato asked, "Anyways, I'm going to be gone for a week or so. So I want you to behave while I'm gone. No skipping class or being rude to your Instructors. Be nice to your classmates and no getting into fights," Minato explained as he was packing a bag.

Naruto walked up to his father and tugged on his shirt, "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to Mount Myuboku to talk to your Godfather and bring him back."

"Why do you need Pervy Sage? Is something wrong?" Naruto inquired.

"Uh, N-No. Nothing's wrong, I just need his help with something. I won't be gone for too long, so the food we have now should be good. We have plenty of ramen cups, but please, try to make something other than ramen for once. It's not good for your health," Minato knelt down and hugged his son before he kissed him on the forehead and left.

"Good-bye Dad," Naruto waved at his father as Minato made his way to the main gate of the Village.

* * *

 **Skip Forward (6 days)**

"The Uchiha are planning a coup'detat, they need to be put down. They're too dangerous, reasoning is out if the question now. I believe we should deploy the ANBU in their district and deal with the threat before they make their move!" Lord Danzo gave his opinion on the matter.

He was seated next to the other two Elders with Hurizen on the other end. They're discussion was taking place inside a small council room at night.

"No, I want to give Minato more time. He should be able to sway the Uchiha with Jiraiya's help," Hurizen countered.

"If he is that influential, than shouldn't he have sent a pigeon to Jiraiya and stayed here to keep the Uchiha under control until the Sannin comes to help?" Danzo inquired.

"Minato told me he needed to go there personally, so he could have a better chance of bringing Jiraiya back. The man probably would have stopped by some town on the way and forgot about our situation if he came back alone. Trust me, Jiraiya is a handful," Hurizen explained.

"Danzo is right Hurizen. The Uchiha are going to try and overthrow us any moment at this point. I believe Minato is a strong, influential leader, but we're at the end of our rope. If we don't act now we could end up in a civil war with the Uchiha," Homura stated.

"I can try and have Itachi stall for time. You wouldn't mind that?" Lord Third looked at Danzo.

The Foundation leader sighed, "Hurizen, you can use him to stall for time, but I doubt he'll be able to. The Uchiha have their minds set. They want revenge for the way they've been treated. Itachi is losing their trust. They're starting to doubt he's on their side."

"I don't care, as long as he can convince his father, Fugaku, to rethink things and stall for time, it's good enough for me. We just need to hold off for as long as possible. Minato should be here in a couple days."

"I know your intentions are good, but we can't stall for much longer. Minato has been given as much time as possible and he's still not back. It's time we start thinking about drastic measures," Koharu stated.

"Give me one day to try and stall for more time, if I fail, then you can try Danzo's approach," Hurizen asked.

The three looked at each other and nodded their heads in agreement.

"Alright Hurizen, you have one day to stall for time, if you happen to fail; we will proceed with Danzo's plan," Homura explained.

* * *

 **Somewhere in the Land of Fire**

"Jiraiya-Sensei, now is not the time to be looking for women," Minato rolled his eyes as they were walking through a small Village.

Jiraiya was drooling from all the girls in the town. They were all young, beautiful women.

"C'mon Minato, can't we take a short break to refresh ourselves. It won't hurt, we can still make it in time," Jiraiya begged.

"No! We both know how your breaks are, you'll be drunk and flirting with God knows how many women. It'll take me forever to peel you away from them," Minato stated.

"Aww, how bout taking a nice dip in the hot springs?" Jiraiya asked with greedy eyes.

Minato looked at his former master and shook his head, "I don't even want to know what you do in the springs."

"Oh, nothing really, I just conduct 'research,'" Jiraiya was giddy.

Minato shook his head in disapproval, "I see. Remind me to never go on trips with you."

The two Ninja picked up their pace as they left the town, so they could reach Konoha faster.

"So Minato, how was the situation when you left?" Jiraiya asked.

"The Uchiha were in the middle of discussing what do, since they were being pushed further and further away from the Village. I believe most were choosing to plan a coup'detat from the information gathered by Itachi," Minato explained as they were running towards the Village.

"You mean Itachi Uchiha? Isn't he the prodigy of the clan?"

"Yes, he's the son of Fugaku, heir to the Uchiha. He's apart of the police force and ANBU. We have him working as a spy for us. Though to be honest I'm not sure he's completely with us. I know he swore his alliegence when he joined the ANBU but still, he'll be betraying his clan," Minato shook his head, "Don't you already know this? I thought he piqued your interest. You said you wanted to make him a spy who would work under you?" Minato inquired.

"Yes, he definitely caught my interest. He's a curious one. I did want to recruit him, but his appearances became more and more scarce. It became harder for me to track him in general, so I gave up," Jiraiya explained.

"So the master spy was outdone by a thirteen year old child," Minato chuckled.

"Shut up, do you know who you're talking to?! I'm one of the greatest shinobi alive. Skilled in the arts of espionage, sage art, and most of all. . ." Jiraiya shouted as he made a full stop, pausing for effect, "Being popular with the ladies! I'm Jirrrrraaiya, the Toad Sage!" He took on one one of his signature stances.

Minato rolled his eyes, "I'm not so sure being slapped in the face by a couple women means you're popular with them," he laughed.

Jiraiya's face was filled with shame as he dropped his head, "I said I was sorry, and that I didn't mean it. I-It was an accident. I swear!"

"Forget that for now. Right now we need to set up camp for the night and continue our journey tomorrow," Minato said as he started unpacking just outside a forest they came across.

"Good, I'm beat and would like a nap," Jiraiya said while setting up his tent.

"You'll need it. We're going full-speed tomorrow and skipping the next Village, so we can reach home faster."

Jiraoya's eyes widened, "You mean, we weren't going full speed? Kami, I'm never going to get a break, am I?" He complained.

Once the realization dawned on his face, Jiraiya started bawling, "B-But, what about all the pretty women in the next Village? I hear they have a good crop of gorgeous young women!"

"Could you quit complaining Sensei? I thought you had the hots for Tsunade?" Minato asked.

"Oh yes, I do. But let's be honest, I'll never be able to get together with her," Jiraiya explained.

"Oh, is that so? I thought the mighty Toad Sage Jiraiya, never backed down," Minato smirked.

"Yes, but this is a special exception. She is beyond gorgeous, and well, never shown any interest in me, so I've given up on trying. Plus, Tsunade's really scary when she's angry," Jiraiya whispered the last part as if someone might hear them.

Minato finished eating his rice cakes and put out the fire they made earlier, "Well, I can see why you gave up. Anyways, we should get some sleep, we'll need the strength for tomorrow."

"Yes, I definitely need this sleep," Jiraiya said while they both went into their respective tents for the night.

* * *

 **The Next Day**

"Itachi, I would like you to try and convince your father to rethink his decision. And possibly buy us some time for Minato to make it back in time to stop this whole situation," Lord Third requested.

Itachi was knelt down in front of Hurizen Sarutobi, inside a private room. He was wearing his ANBU outfit, albeit his mask was in his right hand.

"I will do my best to try and stall for time, despite the lack of trust my clan has for me lately," Itachi gave a resolute answer.

"Is that all you request Lord Third?"

"Actually, there's one more thing. If you can't stall your clan, I would like you to wipe them out."

Itachi's head shot up, "You can't be serious!"

"Oh, I'm dead serious. If you don't, Danzo will deploy all of the ANBU, including you, in your clan's district and will take them out. It will result in a civil war and there will be many casualties. To prevent this I want you to take them all out before Danzo is able to make a move," Hurizen explained as he blew smoke from his pipe.

Itachi stayed there for a while lost in thought, trying to determine which outcome is best. After a while he gritted his teeth with cold eyes, "Fine. . . I will fulfill that request, but on one condition! If I slaughter my clan, including my mother and father, you have to promise me that you will keep Sasuke safe. He doesn't know about any of this, he is innocent. As long as you keep your promise to not harm Sasuke, I will destroy my own clan to keep the Village safe."

Hurizen tapped his pipe on his chin, "Hmm, I knew you always loved your brother, but I never knew you loved him this much. That you would be willing to destroy your entire clan in order to safe guard your brother from harm."

"That's no problem. I promise I'll keep Sasuke safe and under a watchful eye. Now, you may leave," Hurizen dismissed the Uchiha.

* * *

Itachi was at his house making his way to the Dojo. Sasuke had just got back from the Academy and nearly jumped into his older brother's arms.

"Onii-chan, I aced our Shurikin practice today! The instructor was amazed at my skill, as was the class!" Sasuke said proudly, puffing his chest out.

"Really, is that so? So my baby brother has finally mastered the Shurikin Jutsu?" Itachi teased.

Sasuke crossed his arms and turned his head away, embarrassed, "I'm not a baby anymore!"

"You'll always be a baby brother in my eyes," Itachi laughed light-heartedly while ruffling Sasuke's hair.

"I want to be like you someday Onii-chan." Sasuke gleamed.

"And where is this coming from?" Itachi asked.

"What do you mean? You're so cool. You're a skilled shinobi, and kind too," Sasuke praised his older brother.

"My, my, slow down there. I don't think I deserve that much praise," Itachi chuckled.

"Onii-chan, can you teach me a jutsu, like the Phoenix Flower Jutsu? Or maybe help me further my mastery of the Shurikin Jutsu, because I'm still nowhere near your level," Sasuke asked with hopeful eyes.

Itachi poked Sasuke's forehead, "Forgive me Sasuke, maybe another time."

Sasuke puffed his cheeks out and pouted, "Aw, you're no fun!"

"I'm sorry Sasuke, but I have important work to do. Maybe another time," Itachi smiled at his brother before leaving to find his father.

Sasuke just watched his brother leave with disappointment.

Itachi slid the door, to the Dojo, open. He found his father meditating in the middle of the room.

"What do you want Itachi?" Fugaku asked with his eyes closed.

"I came to speak with you about the planned coup," Itachi replied.

"What about it?" Fugaku still kept his eyes closed.

"I wanted to ask you to rethink the situation. It could result in a civil war, and the result will be many casualties, and several deaths. I don't even think we could pull it off. It'll only result in more hatred towards our clan," Itachi explained.

This caused Fugaku to open his eyes, "Where is this coming from? How come you're against the coup now?"

"I've always been against the coup, I just never spoke up about it until now. I mean, we may be a strong clan, but in the end we'll be on the receiving end. It's one clan versus the entire Village, including its clans and ANBU forces. At most we'll only put a dent in the Village's forces," Itachi explained further.

"Are you saying you doubt the Uchiha's capabilities?! Or are you siding with the Village?" Fugaku questioned while glaring at his son.

"I'm not doubting anyone's abilities, or siding with the Village. If you look at it logically, we don't have the manpower to overthrow the Village, even with us being as strong as we are. And I'm no help to the clan regarding the coup. Lord Danzo has me under constant watch whenever I'm not at home. He believes I'm going to sabotage the Village from the inside," Itachi explained calmly.

Fugaku thought about it for awhile, "I can see your reasoning Itachi, but what you're asking is impossible at this point. The entire clan is ready to take action, and nothing I do will stop them. If I try to confront them, I'll probably be overthrown while they continue with the coup."

Itachi's expression became grim, "I see. May I leave now?"

"Yes, but before you do. I still expect you to attend the clan meeting tonight, even if you can't provide any useful information," Fugaku explained.

"Hai," Itachi replied before he got up, bowed and left.

Itachi ran into his brother again as he was leaving the compound.

"Onii-chan! Could you please teach me a new jutsu?" Sasuke pleaded.

"Sor- I guess I could help you with your Shurikin Jutsu," Itachi replied.

"Yes! It might not be as amazing as learning a new jutsu, but at least I'll get better!" Sasuke was ecstatic.

Itachi chuckled, "Calm down now, there's no need to get excited. We haven't even started training."

* * *

 **The Next Day**

Itachi was knelt in front of the four Village Elders; Homura, Koharu, Danzo, and Hurizen. It was the same private room the elders had their earlier discussion in.

It was a plain, medium-sized room with a long table in the middle, accompanied by four wooden chairs. The ANBU member was currently knelt in front of it, with the elders watching him.

"So, have you managed to stall your clan?" Danzo asked.

"No Lord Danzo, my father understood my reasoning but refused to make a move, due to the lingering fact that he might be overthrown if he tried to confront our clansmen," Itachi explained.

"Then it's settled. We deploy the ANBU in the Uchiha district at midnight," he paused, "Do we have any objections?" Danzo directed the question to Hurizen.

"No, I have no objections. Continue with your plan," Lord Third answered.

Before the meeting was over and Itachi was dismissed, Hurizen looked at him. His look told Itachi to continue with the contingency plan.

Itachi nodded at Hurizen, "May I leave now?"

"Yes, of course," Danzo replied.

Hurizen had a somber expression as he watched Itachi leave the room. He could only imagine what was going on in the child's mind.

* * *

Sasuke ran home as fast as he could, while the sun went down, "Oh no! I'm running late! Father's going to kill me," he cried out.

The boy reached his clan's district just as it became dusk. He was panting, "I. . . made it."

Sasuke looked around and saw no lights on in any of the buildings before something from above caught his attention. "Weird, I thought I saw someone up there," he looked around again, "Wait, why are all the lights off? It's too early for everyone to be asleep."

This worried Sasuke, so he started walking to his house, but when turned around a corner he stopped in his tracks, "W-What happened!" Sasuke murmured.

All along the street there were dead bodies, with slashes all across them. Some of the building were damaged as there were broken windows, door torn from their hinges, and blood stained curtains. Sasuke's eyes were filled with fear when he came across his aunt and uncle's corpses.

He started running home, thinking of his worst fears, "Mother! Father!"

Sasuke got to the front door and quietly opened it, "Mother?" Sasuke whispered. He checked the kitchen first, but there was no sign of anyone.

He went upstairs to his parents bedroom, "Mother?" There was still no sign of them. Sasuke decided to look for his father, he might have a better chance of finding him.

He went outside and around the house to reach the Dojo. When he got to the door, he stopped right before opening it. Sasuke heard muffled voices from within, so he put his ear against the door.

"Itachi. . ." Mikoto said in sad voice.

"Mother, Father." Itachi whispered as he unsheathed his sword. He was standing behind his parents, while both of them were on there knees side-by-side looking straight ahead. Both were unarmed and had somber expressions.

"So, you've sided with them," Fugaku stated.

"I-I'm sor-" Itachi choked on his words.

"It's okay, Itachi. We may be on different sides, but that doesn't matter. You've made me proud, even if you've chosen them. Just know we love you."

"Itachi, please look after you're brother Sasuke," Mikoto asked as a tear rolled down her face.

"I will," Itachi replied.

"Son, get it over with. Our pain will be short compared to yours. Like I said, I'm proud of what you've become, despite what it's come down to," Fugaku said.

Itachi raised his blade, "Forgive me Mother, Father. I'm sorry. . ."

Sasuke heard enough. He didn't know what was going on inside, and needed to find out. Sasuke opened the door to the Dojo, and saw his brother bring his sword down on his parents.

Mikoto and Fugaku looked at Sasuke. The former quickly turned his head, while the latter teared up.

Mikoto managed to speak before being cut down, "Sasuk-"

* * *

So, that's the end of this chapter. The flashback will continue on in the next, before moving on with the story.

Sorry for the late update guys, life got in the way. I hate it.

Remember last time, how I said that I changed the name so I wouldn't give away the theme/objective. When I was writing, I subconsciously started changing my plan on how to approach the chapters too, so the comedy was thrown in there, kind of poorly (I think). But I did like the outcome of my ending.

 **Mignonjoli -** Yes, I'm glad you thought they were adorable. I love the pairing, maybe a little too much. As for the mysterious figure, well. . . I don't want to spoil anything.

I would like to point out and thank those who went over to my one-shot and read it, it's clearly for enjoyment. And seeing as I made some of you nearly die from laughter, makes me feel great to know I put a smile on your faces.

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I did change the scene/general idea up a bit to make it more interesting. Hopefully I succeeded in doing so. But I still don't own that scene.

I want to have a couple christmas chapters, but I'd be giving myself a short deadline. I don't know, you guys might get one before Christmas week, but you're definitely getting one on the 25th. Fav, follow, and review if you wish, until then have fun. Peace!


	9. A New Beginning

Surprise, surprise? Not much to say, so let's get on with the story, shall we?

"Talking"

 _"Thoughts"_

* * *

 **Chapter 9: A New Beginning**

* * *

"Itachi. . ." Mikoto whispered in a sad tone, clasping her lap with both hands.

"Mother. . Father," Itachi said while unsheathing his sword. He gripped the pommel with both hands, but his hands were sweaty and shaking. He was standing behind his parents, both unarmed and knelt on the floor, side-by-side looking toward the door to the Dojo with somber expressions.

"So, you've chosen them," Fugaku stated. His usual hardened expression was replaced with one of remorse.

"I-I'm sor-" Itachi choked on his words, and his hands started shaking even more.

"Your mother and I are proud of you. You have become a strong shinobi, it makes me proud to call you my son. Even if you've chosen a different path than mine, I still love you," Fugaku said in a soft tone.

"Itachi, please look after your brother Sasuke," Mikoto asked. She was busy fighting back tears, trying her best not to break down. It saddened her to know she wouldn't be there to see her children grow up. Both made her a proud mother, and she would die for them if it meant they could have a future. This was exactly that.

Itachi's grip on the sword tightened as he fought back his tears, hiding his sorrow behind a serious expression, "I. . will," but his voice was shaky.

Fugaku could hear the pain in his son's voice, "Our pain will be short-lived compared to yours. The path you've chosen is full of darkness. It's better to get it over with now, rather than fill yourself with regret. Despite what it has come to, I'm still proud of you," he said in a reassuring voice.

His father's words gave him solace. Itachi's mind was set and he had a firm grip on his sword. He raised the blade before striking, "Forgive me Mother, Father."

Itachi brought the sword down as the door to the Dojo burst open. It was too late for Itachi to stop, all he could do was look at his brother stand before him while he cut their parents down.

Fugaku and Mikoto both saw Sasuke burst through the door. The former quickly looked away, while the latter could no longer hold back her tears.

In that second Mikoto managed to speak before she was cut down, "Sasuk-"

* * *

Sasuke burst through the door to the Dojo. He heard enough and needed to know what was going on. He stood in the doorway of the Dojo and saw the people he cared about most in the world, all in one room. He was relieved until he saw his parents expressions, to which he looked at Itachi whose expression was serious.

He didnt know what was going on, but all he heard was his mother try to call his name before Sasuke watched his parents collapse. He looked at them, and saw blood flow and gush from the wounds on their back. His eyes filled with terror as he looked at his older brother.

Sasuke was confused and distraught, "Onii-chan! What happened?!"

Itachi didnt reply at first, so Sasuke examined his brother and saw the blood soaked sword in his hand. Sasuke's eyes widened at the realization as tears filled his eyes, "Onii-chan, why? Why did you kill them?!"

Itachi had a stone-cold expression, "They meant nothing to me. Just like how you mean nothing to me."

"What do you mean they meant nothing to you!" Sasuke shouted.

"I was testing the limits of my ability. They were. . . test subjects, you could call them. With my power I have no need for sentiments. They will only get in my way, just like you," Itachi explained while wiping the blood from his sword and sheathing it.

"What happened to you! This isn't like you! What did you do with Itachi!" Sasuke shouted in despair.

"Baka!" Itachi shouted, "It is me. I've only pretended to be the big brother you always wanted. What you see here is the real me."

"Yo-You're lying! You're not Itachi, he would never do something like this!" Sasuke denied.

Itachi laughed maniacally, "You're a fool to think that. I never liked you, or this clan. With my new eyes, I'm beyond your level."

Itachi had his hand covering his face, and he moved a finger to the side revealing his eyes, which had a star-like pattern.

Sasuke fell backwards from seeing his brother's eyes. They frightened him.

He put his hands to his head and pulled his hair, "T-This can't be happening. It's not true! Itachi, Itachi would never do something like this. It can't be true," Sasuke murmured.

* * *

Itachi watched his brother break down in front of him, and it caused him great pain. But he didnt want Sasuke to see their parents as bad people, so he decided to take the blame, and play the villain for his brother.

When Sasuke looked back up at his brother, the Sharingan was visible.

 _"He awakened the Sharingan," Itachi was surpised._

Sasuke stood up and looked at the floor, "What. . ."

The boy's hands turned into fists and when he looked up, Itachi saw tears rolling down his eyes, "Did you do with Itachi!" he screamed.

"Itachi may have been a distant person, but he loved his family. He would never slaughter his own clan, let alone our parents! You're lying! You're an imposter, what did you do with the real Itachi!" Sasuke shouted.

"Baka, as I said before, I am Itachi. I only pretended to be that person you see me as, to satisfy your needs. What I truly was after was real power. If you wish to kill me, foster your hatred towards me. Hate me, resent me, build the desire to kill me. I have no need to waste my powers on someone as weak as you, it's not worth the effort," Itachi replied with a cold voice.

He glared at Sasuke with his Mangekyo eyes, revealing the events of tonight, leading up to the death of their parents.

Afterwards Sasuke collapse to the floor, coughing from the images shown to him, Ho-How could you?! Why did you kill our clan?"

"I was testing my ability," Itachi watched his brother with careful piercing eyes.

The stare from his brother was frightening and scared Sasuke. He felt like he might be next.

He started scrambling backwards, "I-I do-don't want to die! I don't want to die!"

Sasuke hit the railing outside the Dojo. He wanted to get up and run, but the fear had him frozen, he couldn't move. Instead, all he could do is watch his brother move closer. He watched until the feet he was looking were just a foot away.

Itachi crouched to reach his brother's ear, "Hate me all you want. You'll never be able to kill me. I never cared about you," Itachi whispered.

"I-It's just a dream. This i-isn't happening. It's a lie. . ." Sasuke murmured.

He looked up at his brother. What shocked Itachi the most was that he was seeing powerful eyes. The same eyes he had, the Mangekyo Sharingan. Sasuke stood up and glared at his brother, fuming with rage, "It's all a lie! You're not Itachi! I'll kill you, and find him!"

Itachi took a few steps back.

 _"Th-That's not possible! Did I cause him that much emotional pain?!" Itachi wondered._

"This isn't happening, I'm just dreaming, and you're not the real Itachi!" Sasuke shouted as he took a step forward, but lost his footing and collapsed to the floor. He passed out from the surge of power running through his eyes, it was too much for his body to handle.

Itachi stared at his younger brother, unsure if he passed out or is faking. After a while he slowly moved forward and checked to see if Sasuke is awake but found that he's out cold. Sasuke's temperature was high and he was sweating. Itachi leaned closer to check his breathing, and it didn't surprise him to find that Sasuke was wheezing.

Itachi assumed it was because of the sudden surge in power from unlocking both the Sharingan and Mangekyo Sharingan. Normally their bodies can handle unlocking the Sharingan, but to unlock both tiers in such a short period of time must be difficult to maintain consciousness, especially at such a young age.

Itachi sighed, "I can't leave you here now can I?" He picked his brother up and put him over his shoulder.

He made his way to the entrance of the Uchiha district when he ran into Minato and Jiraiya.

"I-Itachi, did you. . already," Minato stopped to catch his breath, "Did you already commit the deed?"

"What do you mean?" Itachi inquired.

Jiraiya spoke this time, "He means to ask you if you've already slaughtered the Uchiha."

"H-How did you know about that?" Itachi asked in surprise.

"Lord Third told me as soon as we arrived here. We just got back from our journey, and as soon as I heard about the plan I came here as fast as I could to stop you," Minato explained.

"So, did you or did you not?" Minato asked.

Itachi didn't reply. Instead he moved to the side to show them the massacre.

"I see. . ." Minato said in a somber tone, "If only I had gotten here sooner, I could have stopped this from happening."

"Minato, it's not your fault, there was nothing you could do," Jiraiya tried reassuring him.

"Yes there was. I should've stayed here and tried resolving it on my own instead of chasing after you. Damnit!"

Itachi didn't want to stay too long, "Minato-san."

Minato looked toward Itachi, "Yes?"

"Could you take my brother to the Hospital? He collapsed and is in bad condition," Itachi asked.

"What happened to him?" Minato asked as he took Sasuke.

"He unlocked both the Sharingan and Mangekyo. It was too much for his body to handle so he collapsed. He has a high fever and his breathing is shallow," Itachi explained.

Both Minato's and Jiraiya's eyes widened, "You mean the legendary Mangekyo Sharingan?" Jiraiya asked.

"Yes, I guess this whole incident caused him too much pain," Itachi said.

"Why, what happened?" Minato asked.

"It's nothing, but I ask you one favour; please don't tell him he has the Mangekyo, if anything he won't remember the last moments before he passed out. I don't want him to abuse them, they're dangerous," Itachi asked.

Jiraiya and Minato looked at the young boy, astonished to hear he has unlocked something so legendary.

"What do you mean it's noth-" Jiraiya stopped as he saw Itachi was already gone.

Minato put his hand on the boy's forehead, "Yeah, we need to bring him to the hospital. We'll talk about this later."

 **Flashback - End (Present Day)**

Sasuke woke up on the couch, he looked outside the window and saw that it had snowed lightly overnight.

He groaned as he got up, why did he have to dream about that incident 10 years ago?

Sasuke made himself some breakfast when he heard a knock on the door.

 _"Great, who could it be now?" Sasuke complained._

The Uchiha opened his door to find Konoha's number one unpredictable hyperactive ninja, Naruto Uzumaki.

"What do you want now?!" Sasuke asked, irritated.

"Hey, c'mon. No need to be so rough. I just wanted to have talk with you over some lunch," Naruto explained.

Sasuke sighed, "Give me a minute. I'll be right out."

Sasuke shut the door and went to put away the food he made. After that he got ready and left his apartment with Naruto beside him.

Once they reached he ramen shop, they both ordered their food, and took their seats.

"So, what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto rubbed his neck nervously, "heheh, yeah. It's mainly about Sakura, but also about Hinata."

"Well I have a good idea about the topic of Sakura, but Hinata? I thought you two had finally made up?" Sasuke inquired, slightly intrigued.

"Sort of. Hinata, wants to be alone for a short while before we pick up where we left off. So, I wanted to get some advice before we meet up in a couple of days," Naruto explained.

Sasuke choked on his glass of water, "Y-You want advice from me?! About what?!"

Naruto gave his friend a nervous smile, "That was the point."

"You're joking right?! I haven't the slightest clue about Hinata. You know her better than me!" Sasuke retaliated.

Naruto snickered, "It's not advice directly about Hinata, but advice about girls."

Sasuke sighed, "You do realize that both of us haven't had a girlfriend before right? So what makes you think I know more about them than you?"

Naruto tapped his finger on his chin, "The fact that every girl who ever sees you practically swoons over you. . except for Hinata, I wonder why that is?"

Sasuke facepalmed at Naruto's last comment, "Give me a break. Admittedly I know very little about them, they're mysteries to me, and annoying, especially Sakura."

Naruto pouted, "You're no help! All you're doing is complaining about Sakura."

"Well you wouldn't have to listen to me complain about her if you told me you wanted advice about girls in the first place!" Sasuke yelled.

Ayame came out from the back with their food and handed it to them, "What's wrong? I heard you two yelling from the back."

Naruto chuckled nervously, "You see Ayame, I brought Sasuke here to ask for advice about girls since he's always surrounded by them when he's in public. But, he hasn't done anything but complain about Sakura so far."

"Oh, does this have something to do with Hinata?" Ayame inquired.

"Uh, yeah. How did you know?" Naruto was dumbfounded.

"She came by earlier today. She hasn't been here for almost a month, so my father and I were shocked to see her. But anyway, when she was here Hinata seemed quite tense and nervous," Ayame explained.

Teuchi came out from the back and threw a dish towel over his shoulder, "That's right. It seemed something was bothering her."

Ayame redirected her attention to Naruto, "It wouldn't have anything to do with you, now would it?"

Naruto sighed in defeat, "It probably does have to do with me. I think she was mad at me yesterday, but I don't know why."

Ayame giggled, "Hinata getting mad at you?! That doesn't sound right, she's never been upset with you before."

"You can say that again," Sasuke commented.

Naruto punched Sasuke on the arm, "So Ayame, what do think I should do? I don't really know how to handle this situation. Plus, we agreed to have a talk with each other in a couple of days."

Ayame thought about it for a bit before replying, "Knowing her, I believe a simple gift or peace offering would be a great idea. I think, no. . I know she would love it!" Ayame cheered happily.

"You really think so?" Naruto asked.

"Of course. Plus, the Rinne Festival is coming up, you could give it to her as a gift for the festival," Ayame reassured.

"You're right! Okay then, it's settled. I'm going to buy a present for Hinata," Naruto stated proudly.

He paid for his food and got up to leave, dragging Sasuke with him, "Thanks Ayame, I owe you one."

"Hey! Why do I have to come?! I'm going to be bombarded by girls. It's one of the reasons why I hide in my apartment, they're so annoying," Sasuke complained.

Naruto snickered, "Why? Does running into Sakura bother you?"

"What! Of course not! I hope we do so we can fix your relationship with her too," Sasuke challenged.

"Alright then, I hope we do too. And if we do, you have to spend time with her after we fix my problem with Sakura," Naruto accepted the challenge and was mischievously planning something.

Sasuke tensed up for moment before regaining his cool, "Why do you want me to spend time with her?"

"Oh, nothing. It's just you two would make an eccentric couple, yes, very amusing," Naruto whispered the last bit so Sasuke couldn't hear.

"Well if nothing then I decline," Sasuke stated.

"What! You can't decline! If you do, that'll just mean you admit I'm better than you!" Naruto complained.

Sasuke gritted his teeth, "Fine! I accept your challenge!" He shouted.

Both Ninja were fired up and stormed down the road towards the shopping district, both trying to one-up the other's pace, to the point where they started jumping across the rooftops to reach their destination.

Once they got there they cooled down, "I guess it was a tie," Naruto said in defeat.

"So. . what did you have in mind for a gift?" Sasuke asked.

"I, uh, didn't have one in mind to be honest," Naruto answered.

Sasuke shook his head and sighed, "Let's start with simple things. What does she like?"

Naruto started rubbing chin, "Uh, Hinata likes purple, cats, ramen, cinnamon buns-" Naruto's face lit up with excitement.

"I just figured out what to get for her!" Naruto exclaimed and started running.

"Hey wait! Jeez, where does he find all this energy?"

Naruto ran into a small gift shop and Sasuke followed suit. Shortly after, Naruto came out with a small box that was tied shut with a ribbon.

Sasuke had a skeptical look, "You really think that's going to make her happy?"

Naruto was grinning ear-to-ear, "Of course, She'll love it!"

"Okay then. Don't come crying to me if it doesn't work."

"If what doesn't work?" Sakura asked as she came up to them. Sasuke tensed for a moment before turning to greet her.

"Hey Sakura, how are you doing?" Naruto greeted her, to which she gave him a glare.

"Hey." Sasuke said.

"So what's this about something not working?" Sakura asked again.

"I told Naruto to not come crying to me if the gift he chose for Hinata doesn't work," Sasuke explained in an exhausted and slightly irratated tone.

"Oh, what did he get her?" Sakura was genuinely curious.

"Well, that's Naruto's job to tell if he wants," Sasuke commented.

Naruto snickered, "It's a secret. And don't you dare tell anyone Sasuke, not even Sakura!"

"I won't, I won't. No need to worry. I'm not the gossip type." Sasuke assured his friend.

"Anyways, Naruto would like to, you know, mend your relationship with him," Sasuke stated as he elbowed the blonde ninja in the ribcage, causing Naruto to cough.

"Yes. I seriously don't like how we are right now. You're like a sister to me, and I will always feel bad for what I did, but I'd like for us to eventually get back to our normal behaviours," Naruto explained.

Sakura grunted, "I was only nice that one day because it was something I caused and wanted to fix, so I complied. But what you did to me was harsh, and unforgivable. It'll take some serious effort to change my mind," Sakura stated in an annoyed tone.

"I had a feeling you'd say that," Naruto dropped his head in defeat.

Sasuke smirked at his defeat, knowing he doesn't have to hang out with Sakura anymore.

"Wait! How bout. . how bout, how bout," Naruto trailed off, then looked to Sasuke for an answer.

"Don't look at me. I'm not giving you an answer."

Naruto stood there for a while, racking his brain to try and come up with something, before he lit up, "I know! You can accompany me and Hinata, after our chat. We could go check out some the festivals activities together. And since Hinata is with us you won't feel scared or uncomfortable. It's killing two birds with one stone," Naruto explained cheerfully, feeling proud for coming up with the plan.

Sakura hesitated before she answered, "I guess it wouldn't hurt. And Hinata is always good company."

Sasuke's head dropped in defeat while Naruto jumped up and down with joy.

"Yes!" Naruto shouted. He nudged Sasuke in the side with his elbow and leaned closer to him so he could whisper, "C'mon on now. Don't be shy. We had a deal," Naruto smirked.

"Just shut up," Sasuke replied. Then he walked over to Sakura and pushed her to follow him. Naruto waved goodbye to the two before he headed back to his place.

"Huh? W-What are you doing Sasuke?" Sakura was flustered as Sasuke was kind of dragging her.

Sasuke sighed, "Naruto and I made a deal. . well more of a contest, and I lost," Sasuke said.

"Yes, but what does that have to do with me?" Sakura asked.

"Well, the deal was if he could fix the problem between you two, I'd have to hang out with you. Naturally I declined, but somehow he managed to make me accept. Tch, I'll make him pay," Sasuke muttered the last bit.

Sakura eyes lit up, "Wait? So we can do whatever we want for say. . a few hours?" Sakura inquired.

"A few hours?! Are you crazy, I want to go back home?!" Sasuke complained.

"Well, I do want to spend time with you, but I don't want to take up all your time, so a few hours will do," Sakura explained.

"Fine," Sasuke gave in.

 _"If I don't, somehow Naruto will find out and he'll nag me about it until I either: go crazy, or give in and make up for it," Sasuke thought to himself._

"Yay! This is going to be so much fun! Ooo, how bout we go to a dumpling shop first, I'm craving some sweets. Thank you Naruto!" Sakura squealed.

"Just lead the way already."

The Kunoichi nearly dragged the depressed Uchiha to her favourite dumplings shop where they both ordered sweet dumplings.

"Mmm! This is so good. How bout you Sasuke, are you enjoying it?" Sakura looked over to her friend.

"Yeah, it's not bad. It's a lot better than the ramen I had with Naruto," Sasuke answered as he ate his dumplings.

He looked over at the pink haired girl and she looked different. It caused him to feel weird, but nothing about her was different. She had the same old short haircut, with her ninja headband over her head. She wore her usual outfit, which consisted of a red sleeveless blouse, a pair of fingerless black gloves. A pink skirt with cuts along the sides and front of the skirt, revealing black shorts underneath. Nothing about her was different, yet, yet something about her made him feel uncomfortable. And the thoughts of her were unwanted. He found her annoying.

"W-W-What are you looking at?!" Sakura asked nervously.

"Oh, nothing. Nothing at all. I was just lost in thought," Sasuke assured her.

"Oh, okay. So what do you want to do next?" Sakura asked.

Sasuke sighed, "Why are you asking me that? I thought you were in charge for the next two and a half hours."

Sakura giggled nervously, "Right. I forgot, in that case why don't we go shopping. Winter has set in, so I need to buy some clothing."

Sasuke facepalmed and immediately regretted letting her decide. Now he had to give his opinion on the clothes she decides to pick out.

They both paid their checks, then Sakura dragged Sasuke all the way back to the shopping district to the girls clothing store. To which Sasuke stood outside for a long time before he was forced into it with Sakura.

The entire time he was following her, he received odd and unwelcome looks from other girls in the store. Sasuke rarely felt uneasy or uncomfortable, but the combination of these odd feelings and the uncomfortable stares, it was. . . a lot for him to say the least.

After picking out a handful of clothing and a couple coats Sakura brought Sasuke over to the change rooms and went in one, while Sasuke took a seat on one of the benches.

 _"I'm seriously going to kill that knucklehead the next time I see his face!"_

A few minutes later Sakura came out wearing a sweater with some cargo pants. Overtop the sweater was a green winter jacket with beige fur around the collar and hood.

"So how do I look?"

"Uh, fashionable, I guess," Sasuke replied.

"Oh c'mon. That's not much of an input," Sakura complained.

"Look, I'm not the person you should looking to for input on how you look in an outfit."

"Well, you could at least try to be helpful."

"Fine. It doesn't look that bad. It's suitable for you," Sasuke commented.

"Alright, I'll buy it."

Sakura went back inside the change room and Sasuke was left to his thoughts again. The whole situation lasted for almost two hours as Sakura kept picking out more clothes to buy. Sasuke was irritated by the end of it.

"That was fun! We should do it again some time. It's hard to believe Naruto was the one who set this up," Sakura said cheerfully.

"Maybe for you it was, and I'm going to kill the guy when I see him again," Sasuke retorted.

"Oh, well have a good evening. See ya Sasuke," Sakura was a little hurt by what Sasuke just said, but hid it behind a smile.

"Yeah, whatever."

Sasuke started walking home and was thinking about this weird feeling in his body. It felt odd, and he didn't really like it, but it wouldn't go away. To make matter worse for his mind, all the stares he received for the entire shopping spree was overwhelming. He was just glad to be out of there and away from Sakura. He, found her annoying and he hated it.

He reached his apartment and unlocked the door and went inside.

"I'm home at last," Sasuke let out a sigh of relief.

Sasuke immediately went to his bed and crashed on it. It was quite a rough day, and all he wanted was some rest. He had unwanted thoughts of a girl he didn't like and a friend to murder later. Sleep was something he definitely needed, and wanted, if he wanted to complete the latter.

* * *

Hey, hey, hey. I'm back. Yeah, this was a short chapter to help set up the next one. I wrote a new story yesterday, well, seven hours ago to be exact. It is about "Infinite Stratos," an anime I recently finished watching and my god was it funny. It was mainly centered around comic relief and well, I like that genre so I'm fiddling with the series in my own funny way. You should check it out if you haven't already. But anyways. . .

Since I was able to write a chapter for a new story, I thought, "What the hey, I'll finish this one while I'm at it." Yeah, I pulled an all-nighter for it XD (good ol' red bull). But I do have to say that writing something else for a change really helped my writers block. Still, I'm a day behind on my schedule, _kill me now_. If anything my idea train will come to a halt again, like always T_T

 **SparklingPearl123, mignonjoli -** Yes, trust and honesty are key points in a relationship. Good thing Naruto has somewhat regained those points ;)

 **DarkestLightOfHope -** True, very true. The Uchiha downfall is quite depressing. Made me cry a couple of times. And for Kurama, I did mention he has warmed up to Naruto, but I'll show rather than tell in one of the future updates.

That's it for now. I'll see you guys in the next update on Christmas, _hopefully_ (fingers crossed). Fav, follow, and review if you wish. Until then, peace!


	10. A New Beginning (Rinne Festival)

Hey guys, I'm back with the Christmas Special!(Let's call it the Happy New Year special too, sound good, yeah? alright) Let's just get on with the story, shall we?

"Talking"

 _"Thoughts"_

* * *

 **A New Beginning (Rinne Festival)**

* * *

Hinata was currently looking in the mirror at her attire. She was wearing a pair of black cargo pants with a lavender sweater, and a purple jacket to ensure she was warm. It was nearly time for her to meet up with Naruto, and she was torn between trying to impress him or just showing up with her current clothes, despite still being mad at him. Hinata looked at the time and saw she had no choice, so she ran out the door with what she had.

The Hyuga had been nervous ever since she promised to talk with him. Hinata felt bad for ever avoiding him, but he scared her that night when they were attacked. Naruto's appearance sent chills down her spine, and just the thought of what he did and the expression he had scared her. It was like he was someone else entirely. . . someone who enjoyed inflicting pain. She didn't like that thought, though.

Hinata made her way to Ichiraku's. She went there because Naruto and her didn't really designate a certain meeting spot, but she did know Naruto would stop by here some time soon. When she got there Ayame and Teuchi greeted her kindly.

"Welcome Hinata. How are you today?" Ayame asked with heart-warming smile.

Hinata took her seat and hesitated before speaking, "I'm. . a bit nervous. I say a bit, but I feel like my chest is going to explode. I'm so worried."

Ayame decided to play dumb, "Worried? About what?"

"You see, Naruto and I agreed to talk to each other, and straighten things out. Today was the day we agreed upon, so I'm really quite anxious." Hinata explained.

"I see," Ayame commented, "So, have you done anything?"

"What do you mean?"

"Have you bought or made any gifts for him? I hope you haven't forgotten that it's the Rinne Festival today," Ayame explained.

Teuchi came out from the back and handed Hinata a medium bowl of miso ramen pork, "It's on the house."

"Uh, th-thank you. You didn't have to," Hinata told the old man.

"It's alright. You're a growing woman, so you got to eat something."

Ayame caught Hinata's attention again, "So, have you?"

Hinata's face turned pink, "N-no. I've been so caught up with meeting him that I forgot that it's the Rinne Festival today."

"Well, you better think of something fast. I'm sure he hasn't forgotten," Ayame told Hinata.

"Y-you think so? You really think he got me something?" Hinata asked.

"I can't tell. He does know it's the Rinne Festival, but as to whether he got a present or not is not for me to tell," Ayame winked at the Hyuga. Hinata was slightly confused by it, but continued anyway.

"So, how should I apologize to him. I want to, but I don't know how," Hinata asked.

Ayame thought for a while, before Naruto quietly entered the shop, "I think you should find out quickly, because the man in question just showed up."

Hinata froze up and her face turned red from Ayame comment as she knew Naruto must be behind her, "H-hey N-Naruto-kun," Hinata said nervously.

She slowly turned around to be greeted by a warm grin, "Hey Hinata. How are you doing today?"

"I-I-I'm g-good. Ho-how about y-you?" Hinata replied, still embarrassed.

"I'm great actually. I finally get to see you, huh. It's been a while and I have so much to say," Naruto replied excitedly.

"I think I'll leave you two alone," Ayame giggled as she went into the back room.

"So. . what did you want to talk about?" Hinata asked.

"Uh. How come you were avoiding me for so long?" Naruto asked right away.

"I, uh," Hinata was twiddling with her thumbs, "Thought you and Sakura were dating. So I wanted to stay out of your way," Hinata quickly explained while looking away.

"Wait, you thought me and Sakura were dating?" Naruto started to laugh.

"Don't laugh! It's not funny," Hinata complained, her face stained red.

"It is funny, because I would never date her. She's pretty and all, but I realized that she is more of a sister to me than anything else," Naruto explained while wiping tears away. "What made you think Sakura and I were dating?"

"When I walked in on you two kissing that night," Hinata answered.

"Oh, that. Sakura was angry and jealous of Sasuke. You know Sakura, when she gets really angry and starts doing irrational things. Yeah, she used me to try and make Sasuke jealous, since he was across the street and watching," Naruto explained. "I was trying to free myself from her grasp the entire time, but Sakura is really strong, so I couldn't break free until you walked in."

"H-How come you didn't come tell me?" Hinata asked.

"I tried, both that night and ever since. But Neji was always in the way. After losing you I, uh, got upset with Sakura. I didn't talk to her, ignored her, avoided her, I even. ." Naruto trailed off.

"You even what?" Hinata inquired, genuinely curious.

"I-It's nothing. Really," Naruto replied.

"Oh, okay. Well now what do you want to talk about?"

"Well how have things been at the compound, training and all?" Naruto asked.

"It's been okay. I've recently got back into the training, but before that everything was upside down. I never left my room for meals and I only left if I was to go on a mission. Everything's okay now though, I've been eating well and attending my training sessions, and going out on missions," Hinata explained.

"Wait, how come you wouldn't leave your room to eat or anything? Did something happen? Were you hurt?" Naruto asked in a worried tone.

"I-It's nothing. I didn't get hurt or anything," Hinata answered, unable to tell him why. "So, anyway. How have you been Naruto-kun?"

"Well, until recently I've been out of it. I always avoided talking to anyone and even after my father got me to go out more often, I still was hurting on the inside. I tried hiding it so no one would worry, but I think everyone still saw it. If you asked me why I felt that way, I wouldn't even be able to tell you, because I don't even know what's going on with me," Naruto explained with his head down.

Hinata felt bad for him, so she put a hand on his shoulder to reassure him, "Well, you're all right now, aren't you?" She smiled at him when he looked up at her.

"Yeah, I'm better now. But it bugs me to not know why I feel that way back then and now," Naruto answered.

"Feel what way? What are you talking about?" Hinata asked.

Naruto tensed up at the question, because it was about her, "Uh, that, oh it's nothing really. Just unfamiliar feelings, that's all," Naruto let out a nervous laugh.

"Okay then, I guess I don't mind leaving it alone if it's not a big deal," Hinata replied.

"So what-" Naruto stopped speaking when he saw Sakura appear in a Kimono, it was red with a cherry blossom pattern across it. Her hair was done up in a nice ponytail with a red ribbon.

"What, Naruto?" Hinata was confused and followed his gaze, to which she froze too.

"Can you two quit staring at me," Sakura complained.

Naruto was snapped out of his thoughts, "Uh, sorry. It's just I'm shocked how good you look in a Kimono," Hinata nodded her head in agreement with a smile.

The two girls hugged each other, and Naruto was about to hug Sakura but then remembered that he probably shouldn't because it would make Sakura feel uncomfortable.

Hinata watched him go in to hug Sakura then back away and laugh nervously while he scratched his head. Hinata thought it was odd, but didn't look into it.

"So are we ready?" Sakura asked.

"Wait, ready for what? Am I missing something," Hinata asked quizzically.

"Sort of Sakura. You arrived a bit earlier than I expected, and I hadn't quite gotten to the part where I ask Hinata if she'd like to go check out the Festival's activities," Naruto was rubbing the back of his neck.

"I'll deal with that, then. You go do whatever you need to do to get ready for the Festival. Hinata and I will go to her room and choose an outfit," Sakura explained as she started pushing a confused Hinata away.

"Roger that, I'll be back," Naruto winked before he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Wait, what do you mean pick an outfit?! Why are we going to the Festival?" Hinata asked as Sakura continued pushing her toward the compound.

Sakura just giggled, "Well Naruto asked me to accompany you two at the Festival."

"He what?!" Hinata exclaimed. "He never told me about this, he didn't even ask!"

"That's Naruto for you."

* * *

They reached the compound and Sakura was allowed in. Both girls went to Hinata's room and Sakura started going through Hinata's closet, picking out all the Kimono's that she thought would look good on her friend.

When Sakura finished she laid them all out on Hinata's bed. One was a green kimono that had different flower patterns across it, while another was red with white intricate designs. The last one was a dark blue kimono that had violets all over the dress, accompanied by indigo lining.

"They're all pretty, but which one?" Hinata asked.

"Well, that's what I'm trying to figure out," Sakura said as she put the dresses up to Hinata's body. She threw the red one aside, because Sakura was already wearing a red kimono.

"Which colour do you prefer?" Sakura asked as she held the two dresses up so Hinata could see.

"Uh, I don't know," She replied nervously.

"Alright, blue it is."

"Wait, what?" Hinata was confused, she didn't choose one.

"Don't worry. I think you'll look good in this one," Sakura reassured her as she handed the dress to the Hyuga.

"Now go and change."

"A-Alright. ." Hinata went behind a screen and started changing into the dress.

When she came out, Sakura eyes glistened with excitement, "Hinata, you look so beautiful in it!"

"You really think so?" Hinata asked in a meek tone, embarrassed of wearing the dress.

"Of course! I'm quite jealous really," Sakura reassured her, "Hold on. I have something that might go well with it."

Sakura produced a faded pink cherry blossom and put in Hinata's hair off to the right. The blossom brought out Hinata's pearl eyes, making them stand out more.

"Let's head back to the shop, Naruto should be there by now. We did take a while," Sakura told Hinata as she left the room.

* * *

Both girls were currently sitting at Ichiraku's drinking some tea Ayame made them while they waited.

"Where is Naruto, he's late. Making us wait for him," Sakura growled.

"He probably got caught up in something that has him busy," Hinata replied.

"What, like his Yukata? He's probably tangled in it,"Sakura snickered at the thought.

While the two girls were chatting Naruto could be heard, "C'mon man. It's going to be fun, Sakura's here too, remember?" Naruto teased.

"Shut up Dobe! Let me go guys, I said I didn't want to come to your get together."

Hinata and Sakura went outside the shop to find Naruto and Minato dragging Sasuke towards them. Both Sasuke and Minato were wearing their usual attire, while Naruto was dressed in a sunset orange Yukata that had blacking lining, and designs of a fox all across the dress.

"What are you guys doing?!" Both girls said in unison.

"They brought me here against my will. To join this 'get together,'" Sasuke explained in an irritated tone.

"Oh c'mon Sasuke, don't lie. You're going to enjoy it," Naruto elbowed his friend.

"What took you so long! We've been waiting here forever," Sakura yelled.

Naruto let out a nervous laugh, "Sorry Sakura. I went to get Sasuke, so he could join us."

"Yes, but why is Hokage-sama with you?" Hinata spoke up.

Minato sighed slightly, "I told you to call me Minato-san when I'm not at work. And the reason I'm here is to help Naruto drag Sasuke along." Minato paused to fake a cough before continuing, "But before that, I had to help a certain someone put on their Yukata," he was looking directly at Naruto.

"Yeah, sorry about that Dad. Thanks for the help though. I think Sakura can keep Sasuke in line now," Naruto waved goodbye to his father.

"All right, have fun. And good luck," Minato said as he left the area.

"So why am I here?" Sasuke asked, annoyed.

"What do you mean? You're here to have some fun, and maybe receive a gift from that special someone in your life," Naruto wiggled his eyebrows, while his comment made Sakura blush.

"Yeah, and what about you?" Sasuke inquired. Naruto knew what he was talking about but ignored him.

"Anyways, we should head over to the Festival," Naruto stated in an excited tone. All but Sasuke nodded their head in agreement.

The three of them started walking, until they realized Sasuke wasn't with them, to which Sakura came over and grabbed his ear and dragged him.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! There's no need to do that Sakura!" Sasuke complained while being led towards the Festival.

"Too late, I wouldn't be doing this if you had just complied and followed in the first place," Sakura explained while walking alongside Hinata.

"Dobe, help me out. Tell her she doesn't have to continue pulling my ear, ah!" Sasuke begged.

"Sorry Sasuke, it's out of my hands," Naruto replied with a smirk on his face, knowing he wasn't the one being punished.

Hinata leaned closer to Naruto, "Don't you think we should at least try to help? It looks like it hurts," she whispered.

Naruto leaned down to Hinata and whispered, "Nah, he's fine. He's just being a baby. I've been in that spot many times, so I'm going to enjoy this while it lasts."

Naruto's last input caused Hinata to look at him, and he returned her look with a grin.

"By the way, you look amazing in that Kimono," Naruto complimented, causing Hinata to blush wildly.

"U-uh, th-thank you. You look quite handsome yourself," Hinata replied, embarrassed.

"No problem. I meant what I said," Naruto commented.

* * *

The group walked all the way to the Festival's activities, which were being held inside a district which had a ceiling over the streets. There were many people walking around enjoying all of the activities. Off to the side there were tables where people were drinking and enjoying the food provided. The whole district was bustling with life. All four Ninja just stood in awe, not knowing what to do.

"Where do you want to go first?" Naruto asked, directing the question to Hinata.

"Uh, I don't know," Hinata spoke in a meek tone, "How about that one." She was pointing at a stall in which people were trying to catch goldfish with paper nets.

"Alright, that one it is," Naruto said before he started for the stall, to which the other three followed. Naruto walked up to the vendor and paid him for two, handing one of the paper nets to Hinata.

"I've got this in the bag. Just watch!" Naruto bragged as he knelt down to the trough full of water and goldfish. He hovered over it patiently as he examined the goldfish, waiting for the right moment to strike. One of the goldfish separated itself from the group and Naruto snatched it up. He caught the fish and brought it out of the water, but then the net broke and the fish fell back in the water. The blonde ninja was ecstatic, until he failed, to which his mood went down.

Hinata giggled at his childish attitude before she spoke, "It's alright Naruto-kun, I could try to catch one for you," she reassured him. This time Hinata knelt down, and repeated Naruto's process, with the same outcome.

"Well, we tried. Too bad I didn't catch one," Naruto commented as he got up.

Sasuke cleared his throat to gain their attention, "So, which stall do you want to check out next?" He asked in a quiet, annoyed tone.

"How bout you two go on ahead? Hinata and I are going to check out some of the food stalls," Naruto explained before be dragged away by Sasuke.

"We'll be back, just give me a minute," Sasuke forced a smile as he walked away with Naruto. They walked a distance away, and then turned around a corner before Sasuke started choking Naruto while rattling his friend's body.

"I know what you're trying to do Dobe! I don't like it, I'd never date Sakura. Forcing me to spend time with her is a waste of time for both of us! Why do you want us to be together anyways?!" Sasuke yelled as he continued shaking Naruto back and forth while choking him.

Naruto raised a finger as Sasuke shook him, "I can see you like her, deep down. You're just too 'cool' to admit it and accept that feeling. I'm just giving you that push you need Sasuke," Naruto chuckled as Sasuke stopped choking him when Naruto mentioned how he felt.

Sasuke removed his hands from Naruto's throat and brought them back to his sides, "What do you mean 'I like her'? I don't like her. She's annoying, the most infuriating girl I've met and she doesn't stop pestering me," Sasuke said coldly, clenching his fists.

"C'mon Sasuke. There's no need to pretend. I can see it as clear as day. Stop being all high and mighty, and accept those feelings. I never really thought you'd ever warm up to her, but you definitely have. That's why you've been avoiding her, using 'she's annoying' and such as excuses as to why you do," Naruto explained while grinning mischeviously.

Sasuke didn't say anything, so Naruto put his arm around Sasuke and pulled him closer so he could whisper, "Think of it this way. If you accept those feelings and tell Sakura, you'll beat me to snatching a girlfriend, eh? Sounds great right? You can brag all you want about it too," Naruto coaxed his friend.

"What makes you think I want to brag about it?" Sasuke asked, clearly irritated.

"I was just saying. Just hang out with her okay. I don't want her feeling like a third wheel," Naruto explained.

Sasuke grunted, "Fine. I'm only doing this because it'll help you and Hinata reconcile," Sasuke explained as he gritted his teeth.

"Sure, sure. Whateve-" Naruto was cut off as Sasuke dragged him back to the girls and dropped him.

Naruto looked up at the two women and smiled nervously while letting out a laugh, "So, uh. Hinata and I will try the food stalls first, while you and Sasuke continue with the games. We'll meet up later on," Naruto explained while feeling Sasuke's eyes bore holes into his back.

"Sounds good to me," Sakura replied, barely able to control herself.

"Uh, sure. I don't mind that," Hinata replied in a meek tone with a small smile.

"Then it's settled!" Naruto exclaimed before grabbing Hinata's hand and leading her to the food stalls, leaving Sasuke and Sakura behind.

* * *

"So, Naruto-kun. How's your day been so far?" Hinata asked while they ate a festival special, chocolate covered bananas.

"It's been great. I've had lots of fun, and I've finally managed to talk to you. What's even better is that I get to spend time with you too," Naruto replied in an enthusiastic voice. His answered caused Hinata to blush lightly.

"T-That's good to know. Mine hasn't been that bad either. Our meeting was less dreadful than I thought," Hinata commented in a meek tone. "And spending time with you is always fun," she smiled.

Naruto was busy fidgeting, which Hinata noticed and hadn't really bothered asking why, but it was clearly evident now, "Naruto-kun, is something wrong?"

"What, no nothing's wrong. It's just. . ." Naruto trailed off as he averted his gaze.

"It's just what?" Hinata prodded.

Naruto scratched his neck as he slowly looked her way, "It's just. . that I got you a gift, that I've been meaning to give you," Naruto explained with his face stained red with embarrassment.

Hinata just looked at him wide-eyed, "Y-You got m-me a gift?" She asked, unsure if she heard him correctly.

Naruto let out a nervous laugh, "Uh, yeah. It's not much, but I thought I should get you a gift for the festival, and as a thank you. . for being patient with me," Naruto explained as he produced the little box from yesterday. He handed it to Hinata who stared at it for what felt like forever.

Naruto was becoming really nervous and wanted to get it over with, "So, uh, could you open it already?" Naruto asked.

"Oh, right. ." Hinata replied and unraveled the ribbon, then took the cover off the box, to which she smiled.

Naruto was pretty much dying at this point from anticipation of a comment, "How is it? Do you like it? If not I can return it and buy a different one," Naruto inquired.

Hinata just giggled, "No, no. It's okay," she replied while lifting the object from the box, revealing a key chain with a miniature toy cinnamon bun attach to it. "I think it's cute," Hinata giggled some more.

"So does that mean you like it?" Naruto was curious, but also worried she didn't like it.

"Of course I like it," Hinata answered with a warm smile.

"About the gift. I couldn't really think of something big, so I went with that. I mean you don't have much keys, but still I thought you might like it," Naruto explained really fast, as he was super embarrassed at this point.

"I love it. It'll go well with your house key, considering that's the only key I really have," Hinata giggled at Naruto's embarrassed state.

Naruto's face lit up, but he quickly turned away, "Ahem, so uh, I guess we should get back to the game stalls. Should be fun right?" He explained while walking away. He tried sounding eager, but instead he sounded like he was trying to change the subject.

Hinata caught up to him, and couldn't help but laugh at his attitude. Eventually his nervous state dissipated, and they continued they're exploration of the Festival. The games they tried out were many. Most of them being shooting ranges where they had to knock down plushies with toy guns to win them. Others were games like dunk tanks, or ones which test your strength. There were even some stalls that had the contestants wrapping presents as best as could within a given time limit, and those who made it got to keep the presents they wrapped. Of course it was a game they still had to pay for. Through all of the games Hinata and Naruto tried, they fell back into their normal routine of teasing, cheering, laughing, and goofing off with each other.

Both ninja were walking along the rows of stalls carrying their prizes, one of which was an orange fox Hinata had won in a shooting game. It was pretty big, about a third of her size, but that was to be expected considering it was the grand prize of the game. One which Naruto helped her win through teamwork.

The entire time they were together, Hinata was trying to figure what she should give Naruto, "Naruto-kun. ."

"Yeah, what is it?" Naruto looked at her.

Hinata was a bit nervous as she unwrapped the fox's arms from around her neck and held it out to Naruto, "You can have him. Consider it a thanks for all the fun I had tonight," Hinata said in a meek voice.

"You sure? I mean, you really wanted him when you first saw the guy," Naruto asked skeptically.

"Yes, I'm sure. This means a lot to me, and I want to give you something important of mine. I want you to keep him and take care of him," Hinata explained with a red stained face.

"If you insist, then I'll be most honoured to take care of your fox. I will treat him with utmost care," Naruto impersonated that of a knight, to which Hinata started giggling uncontrollably. Naruto took the orange fox from Hinata and put it's arms around his neck, making it seem like he was giving it a piggyback ride.

Shortly after they ran into Sakura and Sasuke, who seemed to be enjoying themselves, the former being elated while the latter was content. The girls hugged each other and were busy talking about their eventful night while Naruto went over to Sasuke and nudged him, "Sooo, how was it. Did you have fun? Did you kiss? C'mon tell me," he whispered.

"Baka. We didn't kiss or anything of the sort. We just went around playing the games. But what's with the fox?" Sasuke asked while looking at Naruto carry it on his back.

"Oh this guy, Hinata and I both won him at one of the stalls for her. She gave it to me as a thank for tonight," Naruto explained while looking at the fox over his shoulder.

"I see. So you two have made up? That's good I guess, since I won't have to deal with a mopey Naruto anymore," Sasuke chuckled.

"Forget about that. You still haven't answered my question, how was it? Did you have fun?" Naruto asked, eager to know if his plan worked.

Sasuke sighed, "I'll admit, it was fun for a part of the time, but in all honesty Sakura can be a little too clingy. Which kind of ruined the fun, not that I had much in the first place."

Naruto was mischievously grinning to Sasuke's answer, "Hehehe, so my plan is in motion now."

"Your plan won't work. It's pointless for you to try," Sasuke denied his plan.

"Well then, I'll make it work."

"Make what work?" Hinata asked.

"Oh nothing, it's not important. Anyways, what shall we do now?" Naruto asked as he looked between Sakura and Hinata.

"Actually we thought we should head home now. It's late and we're both tired," Sakura explained while Hinata nodded her head in agreement.

"Okay. That's fine with me, and I'm sure Sasuke is dying to head home," Naruto teased his friend.

"Finally! That wish died the moment I was brought here," Sasuke retorted.

"Alright, I'll see you guys next time," Naruto waved goodbye to the other three before leaving in a puff of smoke. Shortly after Sasuke did the same thing, and Sakura said her goodbye to Hinata before walking home.

Thus Hinata was left to her own thoughts as she walked home.

 _"Naruto-kun was pretty silly today, and awfully nervous when he handed me a present. Still, I'm glad that we're back to normal. Tonight was one of the best nights ever. I really hope we do this again. Being near him is always wonderful," Hinata smiled at the thought._

* * *

Hey guys, sorry for the late update and broken promise. Haha, long story short the chapter was still incomplete on the 24th and I wasn't able to gain access to the computer until last night, being the 27th, and I've been up all night writing and editing. But anyways, Naruto and Hinata are now back on good terms! Yay them!

For the presents, the first thing that came to mind for Naruto's present that he would give to Hinata had cinnamon bun written all over it. But as to what, I couldn't think of anything but a key chain, besides actual cinnamon buns. The hard part was Hinata's gift to Naruto. I had thought a scarf or maybe a ramen key chain, but the former was cliché to the movie, and the latter was redundant. So when I was writing about the festival stalls and the games, I thought a giant orange fox, reminiscent of Kurama and went with that. I tried getting fluff in there, I believe I succeeded to a certain extent.

One thing I'd like to point out is that from the perspective of a guy, it is VERY hard to write in the POV of a girl, especially if I'm trying to do it for a whole chapter. Which didn't happen, because I went back to old habits of switching POV when Sasuke dragged Naruto away. Oh yeah, and if you haven't noticed already, my taste in clothing is terrible. It's okay when I'm looking at them in person, but when it comes to visualizing them, my god am I bad.

 **SapphireofDreams -** Fluff. I'll leave it at that XD

 **DarkestLightOfHope -** The truth will have to wait. As for now, you're wish has been granted. . . for now, JK (or am I?). And as for why he went to Sasuke for advice. Well my first options were Sakura and Ino. The former is currently upset with him, and the latter is a huge gossip, but both would inform Hinata either way, which is something Naruto doesn't want. Naruto wanted someone he knew he could trust to keep a secret. Kakashi, in all honesty, did cross my mind, I don't know why, but he did. But he was thrown out for classified reasons. So Naruto's first choice was Sasuke, since he knows he won't spill a secret without consent, and because Sasuke is always around girls in public so Naruto would think he knows what girls want. Actually this is clearly shown in "Road To Ninja" since that world was created from Naruto's mind, as well as Sakura's. Naruto has always seen Sasuke as a know-it-all, too-good-for-school, I'm-the-best, chick magnet.

Now this is the BIG news for all of you. I'm putting this story on HIATUS, for many reasons. To name a few I need time to relax and let my mind breathe. I also need to focus more on the plotting of my newest project, which hasn't been released yet. And writing a new story always helps, like my newest one, but that will be inconsistent and won't be updated for a while as I'd like to get feedback first and foremost.

Funny really, because when I started writing this, I clearly told myself I will not go crazy and write a bunch of stories. Yet here I am putting a story on hold so I can write/plot two (potentially three) more. Oooo, and I am excited to say that I have been developing two OC's, though neither of them are for Naruto. One is for Infinite Stratos, and the other is for Qualidea Code, which still isn't a tag/tab on FFN. I seriously need to suggest that anime to the developers, so I can move forward with the plot I have. I might make an OC in this other Naruto story I'm plotting, but it all depends.

And don't worry, this story is NOT being scrapped, it is simply being put on hold for reasons stated above. I will most likely get back to it in say 4 months or so. I need lots of time to thoroughly do everything I've tasked myself with, and plenty of break time in between too, because my health isn't the greatest and pulling all-nighters like this isn't good. Nor is exerting too much energy like I tend to. I forgot what else I was gonna say. Oh well, I hope you guys have fun. Fav, follow, review if you wish. Peace!


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